3.4. SR 08-25-1997 - Laserfiche WebLink

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· pollutants in other Parts of the state. Realistic assessment and cost-effective management of the health risks posed by toxic air pollutants in urban/surburban and rural air require acctn-ate information about people's actual exposures. A statewide monitoring study will help to identi~ the most important chemicals in the ambient air and to more accurately estimate potential risks from these chemicals. The state,vide monitoring data will also help to identify areas of concern that'may wa_mant further monitoring activities.' DETERlVHNiNG SCOPE OF PROJECT HISTORY OF AIR TOXICS MONITORING IN ~SOTA In the mid- to late 1980s there was a movement by a number of states to assess non-criteria pollutants which arc otherwise known as toxic air pollutants. At the same time, the Environmental Protection Agency ('EPA) began several programs to determine the concentrations of toxic air pollutants in ambient air. One such program was the Special Urban Air Toxics Monitoring Program. EPA invited state participation in this program by allowing the states tO "buy" into the monitoring effort for approximately $20,000 per site per year. For that expenditure, EPA provided sampling equipment' and laboratory analyses for selected volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and carbonyl compounds: After evaluating the costs of a multi-year monitoring program and determining that it was more cost-effective to conduct the sample collection and analysis in-house, the MI~CA decided to purchase its own sampling and labo.ratory analytical equipment. By upgrading its sampling and laboratory analysis capabilities, ,the MPCA has been able to determine multi-year exposures to V0Cs and earbonyl comp6unds in downtown Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Duluth.. Additional ' funding from industrial sources has complemented the MPCA's monitoring efforts. additional funding has allowed the MPCA to determine exposure profiles for VOCs and carbonyl compounds for the Pine Bend~. St. Paul Park, and Newport areas. While exposure p~files for VOCs and carbonyl compounds have been determi-ed for selected urban and industrial areas, due to limited dollar and staff resources these types of exposure profiles do not exist for most of Greater Minnesota. To overcome these HmitatiOus, Legislative initiatives were submitted for funding consideration over the last several years to expand the Pine Bend Monitoring Network to other areas of the state. In I995, the Legislature approved a $400,00 increase in the MPCA's Air Quality'Division operating budget (July 1,1995 through June 30, 1997 · AIR TOXICS ISSUES ~ MPcA NEEDS TO CONSIDER Over the last several years a number of questions and issues regarding air toxics in Minnesota have been brought to MPCA staff's attention. These.questions and issues can be placed in three broad categories: A) Inhalation and direct exposure to chemicals; B) Persistent and/Or bioaccumulative pollutant effects on human health and the environment; and; C) Source