Fugitive Dust Sampling

MRI researchers are internationally recognized as experts in particulate emissions and especially in the areas of fugitive dust and other open (i.e., non-ducted) sources. Nationwide emission estimates have repeatedly shown that fugitive dust is a dominant component of atmospheric PM-10 throughout the United States.

MRI has over 30 years of experience in the development of source sampling and analysis methods, development of source emission models, ambient air monitoring technologies, and dispersion air models for both outdoor and indoor environments. We assist our clients by characterizing not only how aerosols are generated or entrained into the atmosphere but also how that material is transported through and interacts with the atmosphere.

Areas of Expertise

• Control technologies
• Emission factors and inventories
• Dispersion modeling
• Emission modeling
• Source characterization
• Training
• Measurements

Contact:

John S. Stanley,
Ph.D.
Group Vice President,
Business Development
(816) 753-7600,
ext. 1160

Dispersion Modeling

MRI assists clients by characterizing how aerosols interact with their surroundings. This includes the processes by which material is generated or entrained into the atmosphere; how material is transported through and interacts with the atmosphere; and processes by which material is removed from the atmosphere (and potentially interacts with the ground surface).

Emission Modeling

MRI develops and applies emission/dispersion models for both outdoor and indoor environments. These models have been used to study:

• Cyclic emissions from open dust sources
• Continuous releases from traditional ("smokestack") industrial processes
• Sudden releases from sources such as explosives detonation at military installations
• Worker exposure during handling/batching operations involving solids or liquids

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Measurements

MRI uses innovative technologies for measuring open source emissions and particle size distributions and characterizing near-source plume dispersion phenomena.

• Exposure profiling technique—This MRI-proprietary technique quantifies dust emissions from open sources, such as unpaved roads in surface mining operations that involve trucks weighing up to 350 tons. The method involves a very reliable mass balance calculation scheme that avoids dealing with the complexities of the near-source dispersion process.
• Portable wind tunnels—For field studies of wind-generated emissions
  from open areas, MRI has developed several portable wind tunnels for on-
  site characterization of surface erodibility without disturbing fragile crusts
  and other protective elements.
• MRI-fabricated Dustiness Test Chamber—This test chamber can
  determine the relative dust generation potential of various finely divided
  solids, such as soils, dyes, and compounding additives. Dustiness
  testing can replace expensive field testing of material transfer operations
  to characterize fine particle emissions. The chamber can also be used
  to resuspend PM-10 and PM-2.5 from source materials for chemical
  and morphological analyses.

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