North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources
DIVISION OF AIR QUALITY
Michael F. Easley, Governor
William G. Ross, Jr., Secretary B. Keith Overcash, P.E., Director
April 17, 2003
MEMORANDUM:
To:
From: Subject:
Section Chiefs DAQ Regional Supervisors Michael Y. Aldridge Condensible Particulate Matter Testing for Electric Utility Boilers Covered Under 15A NCAC 2D .0536
On October 6, 1999, guidance was issued to require the quantification of condensible particulate matter (CPM) whenever sources were required to test for particulate matter. The October 6, 1999 guidance was modified on May 4, 2001. The May 4, 2001 guidance clarified that CPM would be counted for compliance in only two special cases: 1.) where organic materials were known to exist or 2.) where there was an expected threat to the ambient air quality standard. In all other situations, the effort to collect CPM data was for informational purposes only. Electric Utility boilers did not fall into either of the two special case categories. Furthermore, 15A NCAC 2D .0536 is based on emissions data that includes only filterable particulate matter, and accordingly is considered to regulate only filterable particulate matter. Therefore CPM data from utility boilers covered under 2D .0536 was an "information only" initiative. As of this date, CPM information has been evaluated for 35 utility boiler tests. The test data for those boilers indicates that there is very little organic material present (on the order of 5.3 percent of the total on average). Inorganic CPM is present in amounts that constitute about 8 percent on average. Effective today, particulate emission testing required for utility boilers covered under 2D .0536 will include filterable particulate matter only. This does not change the requirement for any other source category to provide CPM data when performing particulate testing. Furthermore, this guidance only extends to pulverized coal boilers subject to 15A NCAC 2D .0536. No other boilers were included in the data set that was evaluated for this guidance. Guidance has already been issued for two other source categories, asphalt plants and woodwaste boilers. That guidance along with the October 6, 1999 and May 4, 2001 memoranda may be viewed at: http://daq.state.nc.us/enf/sourcetest/cpm/
cc:
Keith Overcash Shannon Vogel
Technical Services Section 1641 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1641 · 2728 Capital Boulevard, Raleigh, North Carolina 27604 Phone: 919-733-1728 · FAX: 919-733-1812 · Internet: http://daq.state.nc.us An Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action Employer · 30 % Post - Consumer Recycled Paper
