Alexandria’s State of the Air Report Past, Present, and Future April 2009 Office of Environmental Quality Department of Transportation and Environmental Services Alexandria’s State of the Air Report – Past, Present, and Future Alexandria’s State of the Air Report Past, Present, and Future April 2009 Prepared by: Office of Environmental Quality Transportation and Environmental Services City of Alexandria 301 King Street, City Hall, Room 3900 Alexandria, Virginia 22314 (703) 838-4334 www.alexandriava.gov/oeq Alexandria City Council Mayor, William D. Euille Vice Mayor, Redella S. ―Del‖ Pepper Councilman Ludwig P. Gaines Councilman Rob Krupicka Councilmember Timothy B. Lovain Councilman Paul C. Smedberg Councilman Justin M. Wilson i Alexandria’s State of the Air Report – Past, Present, and Future Table of Contents REPORT HIGHLIGHTS ............................................................................................................. 1 SECTION 1 – INTRODUCTION TO AIR QUALITY ............................................................. 2 A Brief History of Air Pollution in Alexandria .......................................................................... 3 What are the Pollutants? ............................................................................................................. 5 What are the Sources? ................................................................................................................. 6 What are the NAAQS? ............................................................................................................... 7 What is a SIP? ............................................................................................................................. 7 Who Prepares the SIP? ............................................................................................................... 8 What is Alexandria’s Attainment Status? ................................................................................... 8 SECTION 2 – AMBIENT AIR QUALITY ASSESSMENT ..................................................... 9 Ground-level Ozone .................................................................................................................. 11 Ozone, Your Health, and the Environment ........................................................................... 11 How Is Ozone Formed? ........................................................................................................ 11 How Is Ozone Transported? ................................................................................................. 12 Ozone AQ Trends ................................................................................................................. 13 Fine Particles ............................................................................................................................. 15 PM2.5, Your Health, and the Environment ............................................................................ 15 How Are Fine Particles Formed? .......................................................................................... 16 Particulate Matter AQ Trends ............................................................................................... 17 PM10 Monitoring at Cameron Station ................................................................................... 20 Carbon Monoxide ..................................................................................................................... 21 CO Health Effects ................................................................................................................. 21 CO AQ Trends ...................................................................................................................... 21 Sulfur Dioxide ........................................................................................................................... 23 SO2 Health Effects ................................................................................................................ 23 SO2 AQ Trends ..................................................................................................................... 23 Nitrogen Dioxide ...................................................................................................................... 25 Lead .......................................................................................................................................... 26 SECTION 3 – CRITERIA POLLUTANT EMISSIONS ........................................................ 27 Criteria Pollutant Emission Trends in Alexandria .................................................................... 27 Carbon Monoxide (CO) Emission Trends ................................................................................ 28 Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx) Emission Trends ............................................................................. 29 Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) Emission Trends ........................................................... 30 Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) Emission Trends .................................................................................... 31 Particulate Matter (PM10) Emission Trends .............................................................................. 32 Particulate Matter (PM2.5) Emission Trends ............................................................................. 33 Toxic and Hazardous Air Pollutant Emissions ......................................................................... 34 Toxic Release Inventory ....................................................................................................... 34 National HAP Inventory ....................................................................................................... 34 ii Alexandria’s State of the Air Report – Past, Present, and Future Mirant Potomac River Generating Station ................................................................................ 36 Covanta Energy-from-Waste Facility ....................................................................................... 37 Virginia Paving Company ........................................................................................................ 38 SECTION 4 – GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS ................................................................. 39 City Operations GHG Inventory ............................................................................................... 40 Community GHG Inventory ..................................................................................................... 41 SECTION 5 – WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? ............................................................. 42 The Environmental Action Plan ............................................................................................... 42 Local Climate Action Plan ........................................................................................................ 44 Revised, More Health-Protective NAAQS ............................................................................... 44 Stationary Source Compliance Tracking .................................................................................. 45 Air Quality Action Day Program .............................................................................................. 45 What You Can Do to Reduce Air Pollution and GHG Emissions ............................................ 46 GLOSSARY OF TERMS ........................................................................................................... 47 Appendix A – National Ambient Air Quality Standards ...................................................... A-1 Appendix B – References for Emission Inventory Data ........................................................ B-1 Appendix C – What You Can Do to Clean the Air ................................................................ C-1 Appendix D – Climate Change: What You Can Do .............................................................. D-1 Appendix E – Bibliography and Suggested Reading ............................................................. E-1 Appendix F – Acknowledgements ............................................................................................ F-1 iii Alexandria’s State of the Air Report – Past, Present, and Future REPORT HIGHLIGHTS Ambient Air Monitoring Beginning with Alexandria’s Air Pollution Control Code Ordinance No. 1545 in 1969 and the Federal Clean Air Act of 1970, the City government has established a strong local air pollution control program. The City’s program, coupled with Federal and State regulations, has resulted in many improvements in the quality of the air in Alexandria despite rapid growth in population, employment, and vehicle traffic. Ozone concentrations measured in 1962 were nearly four times as high as values measured today. Ozone concentrations measured in 1975 were twice as high as values measured today. Since the early 1980’s, the number of days with unhealthy ozone air quality has decreased from an average of 12 days per year to just 3 days in 2006/2007. Concentrations of other pollutants have decreased dramatically since 1980. Carbon monoxide concentrations measured in the early 1980s were five times as high as values measured today; sulfur dioxide was four times as high; and nitrogen dioxide was twice as high. Lead in the ambient air has virtually been eliminated with the phase-out of lead in gasoline. Criteria Air Pollutant Emissions Emissions also have decreased dramatically. Since 1990, emissions