Air Quality Investigation: Air Monitoring
Since March 2000, Ohio EPA has collected airborne Total Suspended Particulate (TSP) monitoring data from three places in East Liverpool:
- Water Plant – monitor located on property adjacent to the State Line facility at the municipal water treatment plant on Michigan Avenue. This location is about 250 feet due west from the State Line facility property. It is the closest monitor to either the State Line or Little England facility.
- Port Authority – monitor located about 0.33 miles to the west-southwest of the Little England facility.
- Maryland Avenue – monitor located about 0.30 miles to the north-northwest of the Little England facility. This location is on the roof of the East Liverpool City Schools Administration Building, adjacent to the East Elementary School.
TSP monitors collect “total dust” (all sizes) for 24-hour periods. Ohio EPA staff gathers the removable filters, cuts them into strips and ships them to the Ohio EPA lab, where the samples are analyzed. The level of metals that the Ohio EPA lab reports monthly is a monthly average or “composite sample.” In 2005, Ohio EPA began analyzing every filter at the Water Plant in discrete (individual 24-hour samples) as well as monthly averaged composite samples. This was intended to yield more information about how high manganese levels were in outside air. Thus, data at this location were evaluated as both discrete and as composite samples.
The air data collection procedure conforms to the Ohio EPA Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP). This means the data are valid and reliable. The Ohio EPA monitors and audits the operation of the TSP monitors to ensure the equipment is operating properly and that it meets QAPP standards.
Please see the 2010 Health Consultation: East Liverpool Air Quality Investigation Cdc-pdf[PDF – 1.8 MB] to review the data collected at these sites.