An extended approach to calculate the ozone relative response factors used in the attainment demonstration for the National Ambient Air Quality Standards

摘要

With the promulgation of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS or standard) for 8-hr ozone (O_3), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued modeling guidance that advocated the use of results from photochemical air quality models in a relative sense. In doing so, the EPA provided guidance on how to calculate relative response factors (RRFs) that can project current design value (DV) mixing ratios into the future for the purpose of determining the attainment status with respect to the O_3 standard. The RRFs recommended by the EPA represent the average response of the photochemical model over a broad range of O_3 mixing ratios above a specified cutoff threshold. However, it is known that O_3 response to emission reductions of limiting precursors (i. e., NO_x and/or VOC) is greater on days with higher O_3 mixing ratios compared to days with lower mixing ratios. In this study, we present a segmented RRF concept termed band-RRF, which takes into account the different model responses at different O_3 mixing ratios. The new band-RRF concept is demonstrated in the San Joaquin Valley (SJV) region of California for the 1-hr and 8-hr O_3 standards. The 1-hr O_3 analysis is relevant to work done in support of the SJV O_3 State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted to the EPA in 2013. The 8-hr example for the future year of 2019 is presented for illustrative purposes only. Further work will be conducted with attainment deadline of 2032 as part of upcoming SIPs for the 0.075 parts per million (ppm) 8-hr O_3 standard. The applicability of the band-RRF concept to the particulate matter (PM_(2.5)) standards is also discussed. Implications: Results of photochemical models are used in regulatory applications in a relative sense using relative response factors (RRFs), which represent the impacts of emissions reductions over a wide range of ozone (O_3) values. It is possible to extend the concept of RRFs to account for the fact that higher O_3 mixing ratios (both 1-hr and 8-hr) respond more to emissions controls of limiting precursors than do lower O_3 mixing ratios. We demonstrate this extended concept, termed band-RRF, for the 1-hr and 8-hr O_3 National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS or standard) in the San Joaquin Valley of California. This extension can also be made applicable to the 24-hr PM_(2.5) and annual PM_(2.5) standards.