Buick Northeast Air Monitoring Site

The Buick NE monitoring site took over ambient air monitoring for lead from the nearby Bixby West site, which operated from February 2010 until September 2010. The department ceased operations at the Bixby West site because in mid-2010, the Doe Run Co. acquired the property on which the monitor sat. The Buick NE station gauges the impact that a nearby secondary lead smelter has on air quality. Owned by the Doe Run Co., the Buick Resource Recycling Facility in Boss lies about 1.6 miles from the Buick NE station. Doe Run's secondary lead smelter recaptures lead found in lead-acid batteries and other products.

Not long after the state's Buick NE monitor began collecting data, the department decided to begin monitoring sulfur dioxide, too, because results from unrelated air monitoring at the lead recycling plant showed that the area may be at risk of not meeting the federal standard for SO₂. The unrelated air monitoring at the Buick recycling facility occurred in connection with an application for a construction permit.

Pollutants

Lead

The primary and secondary ambient air standards for lead have remained at 0.15 micrograms per cubic meter since 2008. The primary standard reflects EPA's concern for public health while the second standard demonstrates concern for public welfare. EPA bases the standard on the highest rolling three-month average over a period of three years and two months. A monitoring site meets the standard when this rolling three-month average is less than or equal to 0.15 μg/m³.

Departmental information about lead

Health effects
Missouri's lead legacy
2008 standard and pertinent documents

Air Quality Analysis Lead - Monthly Report

Three-month average lead concentrations for the most recent 12 months
State map with monitors for lead in ambient air

Air Pollutant Design Values Quarterly Report - Lead

Additional information about lead and state planning efforts

Table of Symbols - Flags Air Monitoring Data

Technical issues can affect ability to deliver quality data. Access a table of symbols with explanation of the problems they represent.

Sulfur Dioxide

EPA not only established a new one-hour standard in 2010, but it also introduced a new form for determining compliance. The new form requires three years of data — the average SO₂ concentration from each hour of the year. The department and EPA calculate the design value, using the 99th percentile of one-hour daily maximum concentrations, averaged over three years.

Departmental information about sulfur dioxide (SO₂)