VISTAS Received Training for CALPUFF

MACTEC and Lakes Environmental have won the Southeastern States Air Resource Managers Request for Proposals (RFP) to provide training for the CALPUFF modeling system.  Training was given to the VISTAS (Visibility Improvement – State and Tribal Association of the Southeast) state and local agencies for single-source visibility analyses for BART (Best Available Retrofit Technology).  Dr. Jesse Thé (Lakes Environmental) and Mr. Roger Brode (MACTEC) have recently completed two training sessions to more than 30 US EPA regulators.  The course focused on the fundamentals of the CALPUFF model with hands-on case studies.

For more information on VISTAS and their visibility projects, visit the VISTAS website at https://www.vistas-sesarm.org.

Atmospheric Research Center of Excellence Moves to Lakes Environmental Headquarters

The Waterloo Center for Atmospheric Sciences (WCAS), the most advanced of its kind in Canada, has moved to the Lakes Environmental headquarters.  This move is seen by Professor James Sloan, the head of the WCAS, as positive due to the exposure to new needs for research: “Lakes Environmental has sophisticated computer resources, such as fiber optics and cooled, secure server rooms that were a major attraction to our research center” said Professor Sloan.  Professor Jesse Thé, president of Lakes Environmental, states that “having the Atmospheric Research Center within our office allows us to collaborate our common interests in research and training”.  He concludes by noting that the teaming up of both organizations will keep Lakes Environmental on the leading edge of emissions inventories, air dispersion modeling, and weather/wind field forecasting.

WRPLOT View Version 5 Released!

Lakes Environmental is proud to announce the release of WRPLOT View version 5 on June 24, 2005.  WRPLOT View, a wind rose program for your meteorological data, is the logical replacement for the popular U.S. EPA DOS utility WRPLOT.  To learn more about this product, or to obtain your free copy of WRPLOT View, visit https://www.weblakes.com/lakewrpl.html.

CALRoads View Version 3.5 Released!

June 24, 2005 marked the release of CALRoads View version 3.5. This new version includes new features such as the ability to run your project using UTM coordinates and copy/paste from excel capability. In addition, Rammet View can now easily process multiple years of data in one single project.  If you are currently in maintenance and did not receive an email regarding the update, please contact us at support@weblakes.com.

Lakes Environmental at A&WMA 2005

A special thanks to those who stopped by our booth at the 98th Annual Air & Waste Management Association Conference and Exhibition in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  We look forward to seeing you next year in New Orleans!

We’ve set a number of training dates for 2005, with additional courses to be announced.  Please contact us at training@weblakes.com for international or customized training needs.

AERMOD & ISCST3 Courses

CALPUFF Courses

If you are interested in attending a CALPUFF course, please contact us at training@weblakes.com.

For more information on these courses, such as registration information and course outlines, please visit our website: https://www.weblakes.com/courses.html

Lakes Environmental Customized Courses

Lakes Environmental offers a variety of on-site, customized courses for all of your air dispersion modeling needs.  For information on pricing and availability, please email us at training@weblakes.com.

Converting Concentrations from µg/m³ to ppm or ppb

At some point, you may wish to convert concentrations in micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m³) to concentrations in parts per million (ppm) or parts per billion (ppb).  For example, the ISC and AERMOD models generate output in µg/m³ while you may need results in ppm.

This conversion can be achieved using the following equations:

C_ppb = C_µg/m3 x 24.45/MW

C_ppm = C_µg/m3 x 0.02445/MW

where

C        = Concentration of the contaminant
MW    = Molecular weight of contaminant
24.45 = Constant representing the volume, in liters, of one               mole of a gas at standard temperature (25°C) and               pressure (1 atmosphere).

For example:

100 µg/m³ of SO₂, which has a molecular weight of 64, converted to ppm:

C_ppm = 100 x 0.02445/64

         = 0.0382 ppm = 38.2 ppb

ISC-AERMOD View is capable of performing this conversion for you: simply go to Tools | Concentration Converter, and select µg/m³ to ppm.  All you need to do is specify the molecular weight (MW) in grams per mole of the specific pollutant you are modeling and click convert.  This will generate a new plotfile with concentrations in ppm.

We are currently accepting submissions for the Monthly Modeling Tip which appears in our newsletters.  If you have a modeling tip that may benefit a variety of people, please send it to us at support@weblakes.com.  Your name and the name of your organization will appear below the tip providing you with greater exposure.

Lawmakers Near Agreement on Broad Energy Bill

House and Senate negotiators are awaiting completion of an $11.5 billion tax package before giving final approval to an sweeping compromise energy bill that Congress hopes to send to President Bush by week's end.  The conferees approved the non-tax measures early Tuesday in a session that lasted well past midnight, maneuvering through dozens of amendments, including one aimed at blunting China's attempt to purchase U.S. energy companies.
https://enn.com/today.html?id=8332

LAX Wins Award for its Hydrogen Fueling Station

Los Angeles International Airport has won this year’s Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) Environmental Achievement Award in the large-airport class for constructing the first retail hydrogen-fueling and generation station at an airport.  The 10,500-square-foot station, that opened last Oct. 22, incorporates a commercial retail-friendly design, which will pave the way for future retail outlets.
https://www.globe-net.ca/search/display.cfm?NID=1060&CID=8

World Bank: Post-Kyoto Uncertainty Threatens Emerging Carbon Emissions Market

As the Kyoto Protocol enters into force, with the goal of limiting carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in rich countries, the World Bank today urged industrialized nations to address the uncertainties of the post-Kyoto period, after 2012.
https://www.cleanairnet.org/cai/1403/article-59511.html

Getting the Skinny on Diesel Emissions

Whether U.S. trucks and buses are meeting tougher federal emissions standards should become clearer under a pilot program slated to begin in July.  Developed by the U.S. EPA, the California Air Resources Board (CARB), and diesel-engine manufacturers, the voluntary two-year program will analyze emissions from heavy-duty diesel vehicles operating under real-world conditions.  The program will become mandatory starting with model year 2007, when EPA’s new tailpipe emission standards for NOx and particulate matter (PM) kick in.
https://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/esthag-w/
2005/jul/policy/kc_diesel.html

Here are a few Conferences and Tradeshows coming up in the next few months: