Environmental Justice and Air Quality Modeling

Darin Avila

Katie McLaughlin

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Marshall Research Group @ UW

ISRM Interaction Functions

01

Returns: Change in PM2.5 concentration in one location caused by an emission change in another location

Parameters:

• ISRM
• Emission Type
• Source
• Receptor

• Value (percent*)
• NEI Emissions
• Lat/Lon to ISRM Grid Crosswalk
• Stack Height

Two Methods of Use

• Percentage value
• Value in tonne/year

(On-road NOx)

02

ISRM Interaction Functions

03

+ NOx

White

Black

Hispanic

Asian

On-Road Diesel NOx

An EJ Assessment of U.S. Power Plants

Database of EJ scores assessing power plants:

(1) Power Plant Name (2) ISRM Grid (3) 5 Dictionaries for Each Emission

​

5 Emissions

4 Populations

VOC

40 Scores per Plant

2 Impact Metrics

PM2.5

SO_x

NO_x

NH₃

Asian

Black

Hispanic

White

X

=

X

Damages

Damages/Ton

Methodology

• Subset of national power plants
• Mismatch issues: eGRID (EPA) power plants and NEI emissions dataset
• Group by power plant name, summed emissions of species from pt source electricity generating units (ptegu)
• Score based on modified yellow belt function
• Per power plant: avg. exposure to population over entire U.S.

The Breakdown: Overview

The Breakdown: Overview

The Breakdown: A Closer Look

Astoria Energy

Next Steps

• Standardized scoring
• Include more populations in scoring
• Plume rise
• Expand powerplant datasets (NEI matching)

A Special Thanks!

• Julian Marshall & Marshall Research Group
• Emily Ahmetaj (HMEI)
• Rose Holton (PICS)