Responsible Care - Monitoring
Data from Ozone attainment monitors show excellent results
Sound science leads to sound environmental regulations. That's why Dow Texas Operations, along with all the other members of the Brazoria County Petrochemical Council, has volunteered since 2003 to work with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) on investigating episodic events at the Lake Jackson Air Monitoring Station for ethylene and propylene.
"The goal is to have a better understanding about the presence of compounds that might have an impact on ozone formation," said Linda Bartholome, Responsible Care® Leader for Dow Texas Operations. "By utilizing the station's data, we are able to better understand those elements and their sources."
The data from the monitors at the Lake Jackson station is analyzed by Dow and the TCEQ. Dow can initiate investigations in to data changes and their causes as needed through the site's Environmental Monitoring Response System (EMRS).
In addition to monitoring for the compounds believed to increase ozone formation, the TCEQ monitors ground level ozone in the area. Data from those monitors have shown that despite being home to Dow’s Texas Operations, the largest single chemical manufacturing complex in the United States, air quality in Brazosport has improved. The Brazosport monitor has not indicated a single day of ozone non-attainment in the past two years.
"We are very pleased by the ozone performance in our area in the 2005 and 2006 ozone seasons. “Thoroughly understanding the sources of ozone forming compounds in our area has allowed us to make a positive impact on those emissions that are most likely to affect our ozone levels," said Bartholome. "This is a case of sound science being utilized to have a positive impact on ozone attainment in our area."
