Question: Are there affordable EPA-approved methods for monitoring ozone?

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by mathew | February 23, 2017 01:12 | #13954


I got an e-mail asking if I knew any EPA-approved low-cost methods for monitoring ozone. I don't, but I figured it wouldn't be too hard to find the list of Federal Equivalent Methods (FEM) and Federal Reference Methods (FRM). I was wrong.

I found a place where the EPA says they should have a list of FEMs and FRMs, but the file is missing. I filed an error report.

Does anyone know where to get the FEMs and FRM list? Am I just looking in the wrong spots? Is the list missing because its being updated to meet the 2015 change in FRMs for ozone?

Some background on new FRMs.

Testing new FRMs

A curriculum on ozone from my bookmarks: this curriculum includes how to make your own DIY test strips as well as electronic monitoring.



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Here is an archive of the document you are looking for. (Hoping the file being down has nothing to do with the recent change of administration....)

http://web.archive.org/web/20170107170902/https://www3.epa.gov/ttnamti1/files/ambient/criteria/reference-equivalent-methods-list.pdf

Teledyne has been an industry stalwart since my grandfather was in medical school. Likewise Thermo-Scientific or any of their subsidiaries will also produce top-notch units. Ebay is a gold-mine for certain metrology instruments. I.e., an Agilent 33301a was an industry standard for ages- the 33361a replaced it and the price went into the 500-600 range from the 3k new range.

Note that in certain industries/contexts/applications (i.e., you want your data to be admissible to a court; you are designing under contract for the federal government; etc), devices usually require certificates of calibration ("NIST cals") every so often. Recognized companies will give you a certificate to go into your document repository, along with a tamper resistant sticker on the shell of the unit containing the serial number of the unit/cal date/etc. Vendors tend to charge extra for that little slip of paper. If you have a reputable NIST-approved authority who already does your cals, they'll almost certainly be cheaper.

Best bang for buck if you need full NIST traceability - buy an industry 'tried and true' used, and get a third party cal. E.g. For that 33301a, you can get a 'cal sticker' from a recognized source for $200ish, and solve your compliance issues.

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