How Emission Monitoring Ensures Cleaner Air and a Better Future

Emissions monitoring is a continuous process used to collect data about industrial plant emissions. High-tech equipment and state-of-the-art monitoring systems are employed to determine exactly what type of emissions come out of an industrial plant. Gases and other pollutants are not merely detected but also accurately measured through a process of continuous emission monitoring. This allows companies, researchers, and regulatory bodies to better understand industrial plant pollution and use data effectively to solve issues that are negatively impacting quality of life throughout the industrialized world.

Emissions Monitoring: Modern Problems Require Modern Solutions

The basic idea behind emissions monitoring is quite simple, even though some of the components required to build an effective emissions monitoring system are extremely complex. It goes something like this:

• Equipment is installed to detect and measure pollutants emitted from an industrial facility (for example, a factory or power plant).
• The pollutant levels are monitored and recorded.
• If these pollutants are not within the tolerance defined by government regulators (or self-imposed by a forward-thinking company), the plant operators or other responsible parties will be notified (and possibly fined or otherwise penalized, depending on the particular laws in that part of the world).
• Facilities that have tested for unacceptable levels of pollution will be expected to change their processes or install new filtration equipment to get their operation within tolerance.
• Emissions monitoring is continuous, allowing stakeholders to see if changes have been made to the plant or if its procedures have improved emissions.

Generally, emissions monitoring should be thought of as a cooperative, informational endeavor rather than a punitive one. Government regulators and environmental advocacy groups support emissions monitoring not because they want to harm businesses but because they want robust systems to help us monitor and clean one of our most precious resources: air.  The fact that emissions monitoring data can be used to hold violators accountable is secondary to the idea of businesses, governments, and private citizens all working together for accountability, transparency, and a cleaner future.

Even with cutting-edge, state-of-the-art filtration and purification systems, industrial plants that use toxic gases or other dangerous chemicals may still have the potential to leak pollutants into the environment. A continuous emissions monitoring model is crucial because a plant might output more or fewer pollutants during certain parts of the day or only during certain processes. Ongoing emissions monitoring is required to catch anomalies in pollution levels. It also forces accountability onto plant operations because disingenuous operators cannot simply discharge their pollutants at a time while emissions aren’t being monitored.

The particular goals and parameters of emissions monitoring systems can vary from place to place and industry to industry. In the United States, many environmental laws exist at state and local levels, in addition to federal regulations handed down by the FDA and the various national and international voluntary initiatives to lower emissions.

Once again, this focus on stopping emissions does not mean that emissions monitoring is designed to punish or impose unfair limits on hardworking plant operators. Good emissions monitoring is in everyone’s best interests, from your workers to your future grandchildren.

Most modern environmental regulations are rooted in permitting systems, where a plant must demonstrate that it operates within acceptable pollutant levels to keep its permit to function. For such permits to be granted and renewed, a plant needs a reliable, consistent way to measure its emissions. A continuous emissions monitoring system can do precisely that.

Mott Corp: A Trusted Partner for Developing Emissions Monitoring Systems

Mott Corp is a leading manufacturer of porous filters, inertial gas sampling filters, sensor protectors, and other high-end components suitable for use in continuous emissions monitoring systems and other sophisticated systems to reduce the environmental impact of gas-heavy industrial applications. To learn more about our products, contact us.