There are two new permanent air monitors in the Barnett Shale.
A few things for remember about these monitors:
- The permanent monitors are meant for monitoring smog and the EPA explained to Mayor Tillman that the permanent monitors have limitations including:
- It only collects for 15 hours (summa canisters can collect 24 hour samples)
- It analyzes the samples in a climate controlled trailer not out in the elements where people would be breathing it.
- The EPA is required to control 187 air toxics “that cause or may cause cancer or other serious health effects, such as reproductive effects or birth defects, or adverse environmental and ecological effects.” But the TCEQ air monitors only monitor 46 air toxics.
About Sharon Wilson
Sharon Wilson is considered a leading citizen expert on the impacts of shale oil and gas extraction. She is the go-to person whether it’s top EPA officials from D.C., national and international news networks, or residents facing the shock of eminent domain and the devastating environmental effects of natural gas development in their backyards.
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1 out of 4 isn't bad, unless you are exposed to one of the 3 out of 4. :-\
I'd like to know how the Decatur monitor is supposed to monitor for smog – it doesn't appear to be able to register levels of ozone itself. As far as I can tell from the TCEQ site, it's only monitoring VOCs, which could be precursors to ozone formation, but not ozone. Can you clarify or point to an article that says it's supposed to monitor ozone directly?
The reason this is important is because some of us have been trying for a long time to get real ozone monitors in Wise County. It's no secret that, based on wind direction and high levels at Eagle Mountian Lake and Grapevine monitors upwind, Wise is in "non-attainment" with current ozone standards, but there's been no monitor there to catch those ozone levels to prove it. And no recorded ozone levels means its harder to pull into the DFW non-attainment area for increased regulation/reduction of both NOx and VOCs like benzene, etc.
TCEQ knows this and has been unwilling to put a true ozone monitor in Wise. I don't think anything has changed except the way TCEQ is apparently explaining this monitor's purpose to different people.
Wow the Flower Mound monitor only runs between midnight and noon. I imagine that the drilling companies aren't aware of this giant 12 hour blind spot… They probably dont even rotate the 12 hour period ever.
Oh you poor folks above–finding out that the WCEQ monitoring is flawed at every turn in the road. Good for you. The WCEQ test results are not worth the paper it's written on!