Assessment of chemical facility ethylene oxide emissions using mobile and multipoint monitoring

Thoma, Eben D.; Gitipour, Ali; George, Ingrid; Kariher, Peter H.; MacDonald, Megan; Queiroz, Gustavo; Deshmukh, Parikshit; Childers, Josh; Rodak, Tim; Schmid, Volker

doi:10.1016/j.aeaoa.2023.100214

Cited by 4 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 19 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…42 Overcoming these challenges often requires testing and incorporating several measurement technologies on various platforms to adequately characterize EtO emissions and to be confident about data quality. For example, in the same field study, Thoma et al 43 showed it is necessary to use time-integrated canister sampling at stationary sites inside a fenceline; however, for the areas outside the fenceline, TO-15A sampling and analysis are coupled with CRDS on a mobile platform.…”

Section: ■ Measurement and Analysis Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethylene Oxide: An Air Contaminant of Concern

Yelverton,

Hays,

Rice

2024

ACS EST Air

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ethylene oxide (EtO) is a colorless, flammable, reactive gas commonly used for sterilization and chemical manufacturing. It has become a contaminant of concern for the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) due to an assessment of its toxicity, which found that EtO is more potent than had been previously understood and which also revised the weight-of-evidence classification of EtO from "probably carcinogenic" to "carcinogenic to humans". With the revised toxicity assessment came findings of increased cancer risk to communities near some facilities that emit EtO to ambient air, including communities with environmental justice (EJ) concerns. To address EtO, the USEPA has conducted intensive research in recent years, centering its attention on measurement and sampling technology development, as well as monitoring of EtO in source emissions, near-source air, and atmospheric environments to further support science-based policy and regulations that reduce harmful impacts to human health. Research efforts by government, academic, and commercial institutions have resulted in the development of novel measurement and monitoring techniques, which has led to more robust characterization of EtO emissions and atmospheric levels across a wide range of concentrations, including trace levels (ppt). This Perspective covers the importance of capturing high quality, analytical measurements of EtO, what is known so far about these measurement technologies, EPA's response to the increasing concerns of EtO contamination, what still needs to be accomplished on the air quality front, and a focus on USEPA research and development moving forward.

show abstract

Section: ■ Measurement and Analysis Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethylene Oxide: An Air Contaminant of Concern

Yelverton,

Hays,

Rice

2024

ACS EST Air

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, there are significant challenges associated with EtO measurement that are highly dependent on the sampling regime (e.g., source, near source, and background ambient). Recent studies have taken critical first steps to evaluate advanced measurement approaches for near source and ambient EtO monitoring − with greater success particularly near sources. In addition, established ambient volatile organic compound (VOC) methods, EPA Compendium Methods TO-15 and TO-15A, are being utilized for ambient EtO monitoring by EPA and state air quality agencies .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimized Approach for Measuring Ethylene Oxide in Mobile Source Exhaust

George,

Vreeland,

Faircloth

et al. 2024

Environ. Sci. Technol. Lett.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

There is a growing awareness of the health impacts of ethylene oxide (EtO) and its role as a carcinogenic and mutagenic air contaminant of concern. Given the need to better understand EtO emissions and associated health effects, it is imperative to overcome the significant challenges associated with EtO measurement in complex air matrices such as combustion emissions. This work focused on addressing these challenges by evaluating the utility of widely used canister-based EtO ambient measurement approaches, EPA Methods TO-15 and TO-15A, to investigate the presence of EtO in heavy-duty diesel vehicle (HDDV) exhaust. Chassis dynamometer testing was performed on two HDDVs and emissions samples were collected and analyzed following TO-15/TO-15A. Initial testing utilizing TO-15 led to the identification of a diesel exhaust constituent, ethyl nitrite, that coeluted with EtO during analysis and contributed a large positive bias. An optimized TO-15A analytical approach was developed and utilized to measure EtO in diesel exhaust from two HDDVs in additional dynamometer tests. Using this optimized approach, EtO was not detected in the HDDV exhaust in these tests. This work highlights the importance of utilizing this optimized approach to accurately quantify EtO in mobile source exhaust and may also be needed for testing other combustion sources.

show abstract

“…Roughly 20% of total U.S. EtO emissions are thought to come from sterilization and fumigation operations, and most reports of near-source ambient EtO have been conducted around these facilities. − These emissions fit into the category of EtO end-use and are sometimes located near population centers . The majority of total EtO emissions (∼75%), however, are thought to come from petrochemical manufacturing, though comparatively fewer reports of ambient EtO exist around these production and processing facilities . A significant fraction (∼15–36%) of emissions from petrochemical manufacturing are self-reported as nonstack, “fugitive” emissions from, e.g., pump, valve, or pipeline leaks .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The landscape for assessing ambient EtO levels, however, is changing. Several in situ optical instruments have been recently developed that enable EtO detection in real-time. ,, Most of these new techniques have sub-1 ppb precision at relatively short averaging periods (1 s to 1 h) and are increasingly being applied to measure EtO in both background and near-source environments. − , Given that 100-in-one million elevated cancer risk corresponds to a lifetime exposure concentration of 10.9 ppt, high accuracy and precision measurements of EtO are needed to pinpoint risks posed to populations. The fast time-response of these instruments offers the possibility for assessing the spatial patterns of ambient EtO concentrations via mobile monitoring, a practice that is somewhat common for certain pollutants, particularly some criteria air pollutants and others related to traffic (see Wang et al and references therein), but is far less common for air toxics. , …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…14 The majority of total EtO emissions (∼75%), however, are thought to come from petrochemical manufacturing, 6 though comparatively fewer reports of ambient EtO exist around these production and processing facilities. 15 A significant fraction (∼15–36%) of emissions from petrochemical manufacturing are self-reported as nonstack, “fugitive” emissions from, e.g., pump, valve, or pipeline leaks. 6 Nonoccupational human exposure to EtO is likely highest for people who live at or near the fenceline of EtO production, processing, or end-use facilities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Ethylene Oxide in Southeastern Louisiana’s Petrochemical Corridor: High Spatial Resolution Mobile Monitoring during HAP-MAP

Robinson,

Tehrani,

Yassine

et al. 2024

Environ. Sci. Technol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Assessment of chemical facility ethylene oxide emissions using mobile and multipoint monitoring

Cited by 4 publications

References 19 publications

Ethylene Oxide: An Air Contaminant of Concern

Ethylene Oxide: An Air Contaminant of Concern

Optimized Approach for Measuring Ethylene Oxide in Mobile Source Exhaust

Ethylene Oxide in Southeastern Louisiana’s Petrochemical Corridor: High Spatial Resolution Mobile Monitoring during HAP-MAP

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About