Industry may undermine air pollution sensors, warns regulatory body
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is facing scrutiny over its air pollution monitoring network, following a new analysis by the EPA's in-house watchdog. The analysis, released by the EPA inspector general on Thursday, did not find evidence of 'malicious behavior' at any specific air pollution monitoring site. However, it did call for more oversight of the network.
The EPA has previously posted its schedule for intermittent pollution monitoring sites online. This schedule allows regulated entities to know when monitoring will occur, enabling them to potentially adjust their emissions according to the posted schedule. The concern is that this could potentially lead to air quality unknowingly remaining worse than the health-based standard.
Auditors found that this issue may be a result of the EPA's air pollution monitoring network being potentially manipulated by industries. There are no specific companies reported in the search results that have claimed to have potentially abused the EPA Air Pollution Reporting Network to fully prevent monitoring of their emissions.
One previously disclosed incident involved an unnamed Texas entity using state-supplied data to alter its emission patterns. The alteration of emission patterns was aimed at reducing the pollution detected at a nearby air monitor. As a result, these entities may be releasing more pollution than intended under Clean Air Act requirements.
The analysis did not find evidence of 'malicious behavior' at any specific air pollution monitoring site, but it did call for more oversight to ensure the integrity of the EPA's air pollution monitoring network. The EPA has not yet commented on the findings or announced any plans for increased oversight.
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