Nonradioactive Ambient Air Monitoring at Los Alamos National Laboratory 2001--2002
During the spring of 2000, the Cerro Grande forest fire reached Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and ignited both above-ground vegetation and disposed materials in several landfills. During and after the fire, there was concern about the potential human health impacts from chemicals emitted by the combustion of these Laboratory materials. Consequently, short-term, intensive air-monitoring studies were performed during and shortly after the fire. Unlike the radiological data from many years of AIRNET sampling, LANL did not have an adequate database of nonradiological species under baseline conditions with which to compare data collected during the fire. Therefore, during 2001 the Meteorology and Air Quality Group designed and implemented a new air-monitoring program, entitled NonRadNET, to provide nonradiological background data under normal conditions. The objectives of NonRadNET were to: (1) develop the capability for collecting nonradiological air-monitoring data, (2) conduct monitoring to develop a database of typical background levels of selected nonradiological species in the communities nearest the Laboratory, and (3) determine LANL's potential contribution to nonradiological air pollution in the surrounding communities. NonRadNET ended in late December 2002 with five quarters of data. The purpose of this paper is to organize and describe the NonRadNET data collected over 2001-2002 to use as baseline data, either for monitoring during a fire, some other abnormal event, or routine use. To achieve that purpose, in this paper we will: (1) document the NonRadNET program procedures, methods, and quality management, (2) describe the usual origins and uses of the species measured, (3) compare the species measured to LANL and other area emissions, (4) present the five quarters of data, (5) compare the data to known typical environmental values, and (6) evaluate the data against exposure standards.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- US DOE (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-36
- OSTI ID:
- 835915
- Report Number(s):
- LA-14169; TRN: US200503%%150
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 1 Sep 2004
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
An Historic Perspective of NPDES Individual Permit for Storm Water Discharges from Solid Waste Management Units at Los Alamos National Laboratory - 18667
2002 Toxic Chemical Release Inventory Report for the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986, Title III, Section 313