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A sensitivity evaluation of EPA's CAL3QHC dispersion model for carbon monoxide analysis at urban intersections

In February 1994, EPA proposed to "refine" its carbon monoxide (CO) hot spot model,
CAL3QHC, to increase its accuracy and reliability. Currently, this proposal includes
using hourly meteorological data recorded at airports near the modeling sites instead of
the worst case conditions now recommended as a modeling default. The analysis in
this study has shown that airport data should be used only on a situational basis as
discrepancies exist between airports and local intersections. It is unclear if the added
meteorological data will improve CAL3QHC's performance. This study also compares
actual CO concentrations and their corresponding meteorology with the worst case
modeling defaults. The highest CO levels are occurring at calms (wind speed less
than one meter per second) which are not able to be modeled with the current
Gaussian dispersion equation in CAL3QHC. Given the findings of this analysis and
the lack of other scientific evidence supporting the proposed refinements,
recommendations for developing an alternative model improvement plan are outlined. / Graduation date: 1995

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/35232
Date25 October 1994
CreatorsLindemann, Julie B.
ContributorsRandhawa, Sabah
Source SetsOregon State University
Languageen_US
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis/Dissertation

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