Smoke School

Sorry to disappoint, but this doesn't have anything to do with cigar bars or hookah smoking caterpillars (look up Alice in Wonderland and Jefferson Airplane's White Rabbit for you youngsters).

Six months sure goes by fast.  Yesterday I attended Smoke School again for re-certification.  I passed on the first round.  They say quite a few people don't pass and have to stay for the second session and if they don't pass that they have to come back for the second day and try to pass then.  

What's this all about?  How does it relate to our work at Trinity?  Good questions venerable student, I shall enlighten you.  Smoke School is officially known as Visible Emission Observer Training.  Once you pass the test, you are fully qualified as a visible emission observer, capable of observing and quantifying visible emissions according to guidelines accepted by the Kansas City Air Quality Program, the Missouri Air Pollution Control Program, and the U.S. EPA.

The Emission Measurement Branch, Technical Support Division of the EPA produces document EMTIC TM-009, which explains the Method 9 NSPS test method: "Many stationary sources discharge visible emissions into the atmosphere; these emissions are usually in the shape of a plume.  This method involves the determination of plume opacity by qualified observers.  The method includes procedures for the training and certification of observers and procedures to be used in the field for determination of plume opacity."

The majority of our work is in assisting clients to complete their air permit and get the permit issued.  Those air permits contain restrictions on emissions and requirements for frequency of inspection of those emissions.  As certified observers, we can perform those inspections for our clients.  This leads into our VEMS software that we developed specifically for this inspection requirement. A Method 9 test is a 6-minute test conducted at 15-second intervals, and none of those 15-second tests can exceed the limit set in the air permit.  Our software makes the test easy by automating the input every 15-seconds on a PDA.  The results can then be downloaded to a desktop applications and reports can be generated.