Village Emission in Alaska

The emission inventory did not estimate emissions from Alaskan villages. We do not have adequate data or resources. Few rural Alaskan sources are large enough for permitting; therefore we do not have measured activity data like the larger sources in urban Alaska. We decided to produce a Village Alaska Inventory Tool. It will use local knowledge and EPA tested science to estimate emissions in Alaska villages.

Village Alaska Inventory Tool Spreadsheet (XLS): Under Construction

We identified emission producing activities in bush Alaska. These activities include use of power generators, consumer products, planes and airport vehicles, boilers, snow machines, and more. We summarized the emission factor data for those activities into an Excel spreadsheet. A person can input the annual activity levels for specific source categories. Using the activity level input and standard EPA emission factors for the sources, the spreadsheet will calculate hazardous air pollutant emissions for assessed sources.

Instructions to use Village Alaska Inventory Tool:

Determine which sources from the list apply to your community.
Estimate the annual activity data of the source.
Enter appropriate activity data into the blue spreadsheet cells marked with a bold 'x'. For each 'nonroad' source use either hours of operation per year or gallons of fuel used per year - but not both "units of work" for the same source.
Spreadsheet will use standard emission factors to estimate annual hazardous air pollutant release.
Summary of hazardous air pollutant release calculated on "Total_HAPs" spreadsheet.

This spreadsheet needs to be reviewed by villagers to determine its utility and ease of use. We will provide the tool to interested people. When invited to villages to speak about new diesel fuel regulations, we will have copies of the tool available. In turn, we can learn from the villagers about their air pollution priorities. We encourage individual communities to identify, assess, inventory and report their own air toxics emissions.

To explore the possible health effects of these and other pollutants, please visit the following internet sites:: The Environmental Protection Agency's Integrated Risk Information System - list of non-cancer and cancer risk values for many pollutants; The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry - list of pollutants and corresponding minimum risk levels; The National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine's Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB); The Environmental Protection Agency's Health Effects Notebook for Hazardous Air Pollutants; The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry's Frequently Asked Questions about contaminants found at Hazardous Waste Sites

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