Universitt Stuttgart

M.Sc. Study Program WASTE

Assessment of Particulate Matter in Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia

Report on Planning, Quality Control and Quality Assurance of

Measurements

Summer Semester 2013

Students:
Family name

First name

Matr.-No.

E-Mail/phone-No.

Wildani

Nila

2775621

n.wildani@yahoo.com

Venkatachalam

Venkateshwaran

2828109

venky1134@gmail.com

Suvedi

Sukriti

2776374

Sukriti.suvedi@gmail.com

Supervisors Name
Institute of Supervisor

:
:

Date of Submission

Prof. Dr.-Ing. G. Baumbach / Dr.-IngU. Vogt

Institute of Combustion and Power Plant
Technology
30-07-2013

Contents
1.

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... 4

2.

PROBLEM ANALYSIS ........................................................................................................................ 4

3.

4.

5.

2.1

Task Description....................................................................................................................... 4

2.2

Analysis of Background Information ....................................................................................... 5

2.3

Geographical Information ....................................................................................................... 6

2.4

Meteorological Information .................................................................................................... 6

2.5

Parameters and Limit Values ................................................................................................... 7

2.6

Effects of Air Pollution ............................................................................................................. 9

2.7

Assessment of Results of Measurements.............................................................................. 10

MEASUREMENT STRATEGY ........................................................................................................... 11

3.1

Measurement Locations ........................................................................................................ 11

3.2

Selection of the measurement locations............................................................................... 11

3.3

Significance of the selected locations ................................................................................... 11

3.4

Measurement Times .............................................................................................................. 12

3.5

Sampling period and duration of the measurement program .............................................. 12

3.6

Supplementary Measurements: ............................................................................................ 13

MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUE ........................................................................................................ 14

4.1

PM Measurement .................................................................................................................. 14

4.2

Principle ................................................................................................................................. 14

4.3

Instrument/Equipment .......................................................................................................... 15

4.4

Operation ............................................................................................................................... 16

4.5

Maintenance .......................................................................................................................... 17

4.6

Meteorological data measurement: ...................................................................................... 18

ORGANIZATION ............................................................................................................................. 19
5.1

Project Management ............................................................................................................. 19

5.2

Project Administration........................................................................................................... 19

5.3

Original Equipment Manufacture .......................................................................................... 19

5.4

Sampling Personnel ............................................................................................................... 19

5.5

Scheduling.............................................................................................................................. 19

5.6

Evaluation Process: ................................................................................................................ 20

5.7

Evaluation algorithms: ........................................................................................................... 20

2

5.8
6.

Uncertainty of Result: ............................................................................................................ 21

QUALITY ASSURANCE .................................................................................................................... 22

6.1

Calibration.............................................................................................................................. 22

6.2

DUSTTRAKTM Advanced Calibration using Serial Gravimetric Calibration ........................... 23

6.3

Step 1: PCF Calibration .......................................................................................................... 24

6.4

Step 2: SCF Calibration ........................................................................................................... 24

7.

CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................. 24

8.

REFERENCES .................................................................................................................................. 25

Figure 1 PM Data, UB, 2012 (Source: Ryan.W.Allen, ACMS, January 2013) ..........................................7
Figure 2 PM Data of Ulaan Baatar from 2004-2012 .....................................................................................8
Figure 3 Air Pollution in Ulaan Baatar compared to other world cities .......................................................8
Figure 4 Aerosol size distribution and health effects (Source: S.Lodoysamba.et.al, 2011) ...................9
Figure 5 Existing Monitoring Stations in Ulaan Baatar .............................................................................. 11
Figure 6 Proposed Monitoring Stations in Ulaan Baatar (Marked in Red and Green) ......................... 12
Figure 7 TSI DustTrakTM Model II Aerosol Monitor flow schematic (TSI, 2012) .................................. 15
Figure 8 External Pump of Instrument (TSI, 2012) .................................................................................... 16
Figure 9 Display of mass measurement on the screen (TSI, 2012) ........................................................ 17
Figure 10 Organizational Chart ..................................................................................................................... 20
Figure 11 Setup for advanced series calculation ....................................................................................... 23

Table 1 Temperature Data in Ulaan Baatar ...................................................................................................6

Table 2 Exceedance factors of Particulate matter in UB .............................................................................9
Table 3 List of monitoring stations in Ulaan Baatar ................................................................................... 12
Table 4 Specification of DustTrak TMII 8350 (TSI, 2012) ......................................................................... 15
Table 5 Required maintenance plan during measurement (TSI, 2012) .................................................. 17

1.

INTRODUCTION

Air Pollution is one of the most important problems that have a great impact on the health and
environment of the society in the 21st century. Combating the effects and finding solutions to
prevent and monitor air pollution will be one of the challenging tasks in the present scenario. So
much of emphasis has been given to monitor the air quality in almost all the world cities mainly
because of several factors like rise of industries, changing lifestyle of people, increased means of
transportation and also the climate change. Lots of parameters are taken into account when
discussing about air pollution, be it physically, chemically or biologically. The main aim is to
streamline particular parameters that we wanted to consider and generate ideas and suggestions
to solve the problems involved in the same. In the case of our planning project, the important
parameter under question is Particulate Matter (PM), as it has gained a prominent place in the
study of air pollution.

2.

PROBLEM ANALYSIS

2.1

Task Description

Ulaan Baatar, the capital city of Mongolia is one of the most polluted cities in the world. The main
cause of the pollution is by multiple sources like Thermal Power plants, Coal mining stations,
Domestic stoves, absence of a central heating system and also its topography. The regulation of
the air pollutants that are dispersed in the city still requires a lot of improvements. Without carefully
monitoring, sampling and discussing about the pollutants that affect the air quality, the
improvement of the same cant be achieved. Of all the pollutants that is being frequently monitored
and reported by the stations set up by their own government, quality of monitoring the Particulate
Matter (PM10 and PM2.5) is inadequate and not much importance is given compared to major
pollutants like Carbon monoxide, Nitrogen dioxide and so on. Even the number of monitoring
stations is low compared to the size of the city and its population.
Moreover, Ulaan Baatar always exceeds the PM values as prescribed by World Health
Organization (WHO) and it is even 7-8 times (Source: World Bank) of the standard limit values,
which result in serious health complications among the public. During the winter season, because
of the occurrence of the inversions, the ambient air is almost fully dispersed with particulate matter,
which results in the poor visibility and a lethal effect on the respiratory system of the public there.
So this planning project strives in setting up monitoring stations at different parts of the city of
Ulaan Baatar according to its significance and population. They are mainly devoted to the
continuous on-line monitoring of Particulate matter in the ambient air and comparison of values are
being done with respect to the 24 hour limit standards set by them for a period of one year. Added
to that, we also discuss about the spatial and temporal variations of the ambient air quality
throughout the city of Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia.

2.2

Analysis of Background Information

Air Pollution has becomes one of the important problems and priorities in the city of Ulaan Baatar.
Air pollution in Ulaan Baatar is due to inter-related causes and problems like Usage of coal and
wood for cooking and heating, fugitive dust (both transport and non-transport), construction
industry, automobiles, garbage burning and so on. These sources are closely associated with the
industrialization of the city. But it is not keeping the check of the air pollutants up to the
international standards; blame it on the economy and the development of the country as a whole
financially. The Air Quality Division of Mongolia operates four monitoring stations in Ulaan Baatar
for regulating the air pollution. As of 2012, the four stations that are operating have the technical
support to monitor Nitrogen Dioxide, Carbon Monoxide and Sulphur Dioxide. But they dont have
adequate technical assistance to continuously monitor Particulate Matter (PM), which can be
extreme at times (Both PM10 and PM2.5) during winter and during dust storm that have serious
health implications on the public.
A number of emission inventories have been prepared for the Ulaanbaatar air shed in order to
quantify source emissions and contributions to particulate matter air pollution in the city. However,
some sources such as fugitive dust from dust storms and local dust generating activities or
emissions from domestic use of fuels for heating and cooking are difficult to quantify per se or the
emissions factors and activity estimates have a high uncertainty associated (>50%) [1].

Fig.1. Geographical Location of Ulaan Baatar

In order to have a better and an adequate technical assistance for the ambient air quality
monitoring, we are proposing to setup 8 monitoring stations, that are mainly concerned with the
measurement and sampling of Particulate matter in the ambient air of Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia. In
that way, it will make a better understanding with regards to the significance and impacts of
Particulate Matter not only in few places but the city as a whole.

2.3

Geographical Information

The capital city of Ulaanbaatar of Mongolia is located in Central Asia with harsh continental climate
at northern latitude of 47 degrees and 55 minutes and eastern longitude of 106 degrees and 55
minutes, and lies at 1,500 meters above sea level and occupies 470.4 thousand hectares of land.
The near Ulaanbaatar region belongs to the earthquake magnitudes from 5 to 7. According to the
natural zone classification, the near Ulaan Baatar region has rocky high mountains, forested
steppes, steppes, and river valleys and therefore, the biodiversity of the region is very rich and
beautiful and varies in animals, vegetation and soil types.
2.4

Meteorological Information

Ulaan Baatar city has an extremely continental climate, including four seasons, and it is one of the
coldest national capitals in the world. Winter is cold with an average temperature of -26C in
January. In summer, the warmest month is July with an average temperature of +17C. The
highest temperature in July reaches up to +39C, and the lowest temperature in January ranges to
-40C. According to the past decades reports, there have been 56 days registered a year with an
average daily temperature of -25 C and 55 days with an average temperature of +15C.
Although the wind blows mostly from the north and northwest in Ulaan Baatar city, it changes
direction in the mountainous areas, forests and river valleys. In any month of the year the wind is
observed to be blowing from northwest in 30-40 % of the cases, however, it rarely blows from the
east. Compared to the rest of Mongolia, the wind speed is lower in Ulaanbaatar city and the
average yearly wind speed is 0.9-1.5 meters per sec, while in river valleys it reaches up to 2.5-4.8
meters per sec. The wind speed rarely reaches 20 m/sec and the wind with up to 10 m/sec occurs
7 or 9 days a year.
The atmospheric pressure remains constant throughout the year. It is 845-870 gPa in October and
November, and around 840 gPa in July. The daily difference in atmospheric pressure is 1-4 gPa
and it does not negatively influence on human health. The atmospheric pressure of 8 gPa which
influences on the people with cardio vascular problems is observed on only 25 days a year.
The average annual humidity is 70-75% and in the driest spring season and reaches up to 4555%. The average annual precipitation is 240 mm. In general, 95-97 percent of precipitation falls
in warm season, including 75-80 percent in the summer. In winter, the precipitation ranges from 1
to 3 mm, whereas in July it ranges from 100 to 120 mm. It rains 40-70 days a year, 25-30 days
snows and 140-170 days are observed to be having snow coverage. [2]

Table 1 Temperature Data in Ulaan Baatar

Temperature in Ulaan Baatar

Months
January
February
March
April
May
June

Normal
-24.6C
-20.6C
-9.8C
0.3C
8.9C
14.6C

Warmest
-15.6C
-11.4C
-2.0C
8.3C
16.8C
21.6C

Coldest
-26.5C
-24.1C
-15.4C
-5.8C
2.7C
8.3C

Precipitation
(days)
Normal
0
0
0
2
3
9
6

July
August
September
October
November
December

16.6C
14.7C
7.3C
-1.1C
-13.2C
-21.9C

22.7C
21.5C
15.6C
6.8C
-4.4C
-13.7C

11.2C
9.3C
2.2C
-6.0C
-16.2C
-23.8C

11
13
4
2
1
1

(Source: www.yr.no)
2.5

Parameters and Limit Values

Ulaan Baatar (UB) ranks second in the worlds most polluted cities. It also has the poorest ambient
air quality. Air pollution in Ulaan Baatar is caused not only by the general factors like Coal Power
plants, traffic and so on, but also the burning of coal and wood in the residential areas also known
as Ger. These Ger areas lack central heating system and almost all of them use the conventional
and obsolete form of room heating, which contributes greatly to the Particulate matter in the winter
season. Nearly 27% of mortality in Ulaanbaatar is due to air pollution. PM2.5 mass concentrations
are in the range of 94343 g/m3 which means 78 times higher than national annual air quality
standard and 911 times higher than WHO guidelines. $463 million is spent yearly on health costs
(mortality, bronchitis, and hospitalizations) in Mongolia as an effect of this air pollution [3]. Another
important thing to be noted is that the National air quality value limits are set two times more than
that of WHO Guidelines for the air quality, but still get exceeded up to 5-6 times of the National
Standards. Some of the data that corresponds to the Particulate matter and the air quality in Ulaan
Baatar are as follows:

Figure 1 PM Data, UB, 2012 (Source: Ryan.W.Allen, ACMS, January 2013)

800.0
700.0
600.0
500.0
400.0

PM2.5

300.0
PM10
200.0
PM2.5
Avarage (year)

100.0
Nov-04
Mar-05
Dec-05
Apr-06
Aug-06
Dec-06
Apr-07
Aug-07
Dec-07
Apr-08
Sep-08
Jan-09
May-09
Oct-09
Feb-10
Jun-10
Oct-10
Feb-11
Jun-11
Oct-11
Mar-12
Jul-12

0.0

PM10 Avarage
(year)

Figure 2 PM Data of Ulaan Baatar from 2004-2012

Figure 3 Air Pollution in Ulaan Baatar compared to other world cities

World Health Organization (WHO) Limits:

PM2.5:
10 g/m3, annual mean
25 g/m3, 24-hour mean

PM10:
8

20 g/m3, annual mean

50 g/m3, 24-hour mean

Table 2 Exceedance factors of Particulate matter in UB

Area

PM 10 (g/m3)

PM 2.5 (g/m3)

Exceedance
(factor)

Central Part UB

300

150

Ger Area UB

350-900

300-620

7-18

2.6 Effects of Air Pollution

The health effects caused by the Air pollution are one of the most important problems that have
to be combated in this modern age. There are different health and toxic effects that are directly or
indirectly by the pollutants dispersed in the atmosphere. As our project deals about the quality of
particulate matter in the ambient air, some of the types and health effects of Particulate matter in
the air are as follows:

Figure 4 Aerosol size distribution and health effects (Source: S.Lodoysamba.et.al, 2011)

Some of the common health effects of Air Pollution are as follows (Source: WHO)

2.7

PM affects more people than any other pollutant (WHO).

Chronic exposure to PM (Both PM10and PM2.5) contributes to the risk of developing
cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, as well as of lung cancer.
Exposure to pollutants from indoor combustion of solid fuels on open fires or traditional
stoves increases the risk of acute lower respiratory infections and associated mortality
among young children.
Indoor air pollution from solid fuel use is also a major risk factor for chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease and lung cancer among adults.

Assessment of Results of Measurements

The measured values from the monitoring stations are always assessed and compared to the
national and the international limit values, test values and recommended values. At the end of the
duration of measurements, the values are compared and reviewed.

10

3.

MEASUREMENT STRATEGY

3.1

Measurement Locations

The first step involves the selection for the measurement locations of the places under
consideration. The locations must serve the main purpose of continuous monitoring of the
particulate matter in the city of Ulaan Baatar. The main problem lies in the selection and
distribution of the monitoring locations across the city based on its significance.
3.2

Selection of the measurement locations

Though Ulaanbaatar has four existing stations for the air pollution monitoring, they are not widely
distributed along the whole city. And though the existing stations have the technical expertise to
monitor major pollutants like Carbon Monoxide, NOx and SOx around the city, inadequate
technical assurance prevails for the Particulate matter monitoring. So we are planning to increase
the monitoring stations to eight, all of which serves mainly for the monitoring of the Particulate
Matter (PM10 and PM2.5) in the ambient air of Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia.
3.3

Significance of the selected locations

The locations for the continuous monitoring of the ambient air quality are selected based on their
residential and commercial significance. As the proposed stations are eight in number, it has been
given a good balance and distribution among the areas throughout the city. The
commercial/industrial locations involve areas near Thermal Power plants, City square and
educational institutions. Added to that, the residential areas are chosen with Ger areas in mind and
also the International airport, which is just 2.5-3 Kms away from a huge Ger area. In the heavy
traffic regions of city centre, the instrument for the monitoring is placed on the side of the road and
with respect to the residential areas; the instrumental setup is done in the top of the buildings
nearby.

Figure 5 Existing Monitoring Stations in Ulaan Baatar

11

Figure 6 Proposed Monitoring Stations in Ulaan Baatar (Marked in Red and Green)

Table 3 List of monitoring stations in Ulaan Baatar

Commercial/Industrial Locations (Red)

Residential Locations (Green)

A1 - BGD Khoroo-5 (Near Thermal Power Plant4)

A2 - Bayanbogd Plaza (Near Sukhbaatar
Square)
A3 Mongolia International University

A5 - Chinggis Khan International Airport (Near

to Nisekh)
A6 Gan Khitis (Ger areas with traffic)
A7 Hospital of Psychics

A4 - Mongolian Data Centre (near Ash basin of A8 Chemistry Ambulatory

Thermal Power Plant-4
3.4

Measurement Times

Continuous supervision of the monitoring station is not required, as the instrument works on itself
and records continuously. But personnel are employed to supervise several tasks like
maintenance of the devices every day, check for any flaws, electrical support, monitoring for
external factors like harsh climate, theft and so on.
3.5

Sampling period and duration of the measurement program

The monitoring is done continuously over a time span of one year to get the spatial and temporal
variations of the air quality in Ulaan Baatar. A complete measurement plan is given by the Project
leader to the team and they are briefed of their tasks during the duration. The instrumental setup is
12

installed and the device is programmed to work on the continuous mode. Along with the monitoring
of the values, the instrument also gives the real time mass concentration of the Particulate matter
everyday, which can be fed to the system and can be reviewed every now and then. Personnel
are sent frequently to check the cleanliness of the filter, efficiency and the quality of the instrument
throughout the program. In the events of snowfall, hail storms or wind storms, the personnel
should make sure that the device is secured and should not be disturbed while doing the
instrument. Enough battery backup should be made in case of blackouts and power outages.
3.6

Supplementary Measurements:

During the course of the measurement program, supplementary measurements like

Meteorological data, rate of traffic, and so on are collected from the existing stations and are
acquired on an everyday basis. Some personnel are employed mainly for collecting the data and
recording them throughout this duration.

13

4.

MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUE

4.1

PM Measurement

Two methods, which continuously measure atmospheric PM concentrations, have been officially
approved by Environment Ministry of the Germany [4]. These two methods are beta radiation
attenuation and optical (photometric) measuring instrument. The first method monitors the
attenuation of beta radiation through a paper filter. Attenuation of beta particles increases as
particulate matter is deposited on the surface of the paper filter. While the second method,
monitors the light absorption caused by the particulate matter.
In respect to the economical affordability, a relatively cheap and user friendly continues PM
monitoring tool based on photometric particle measurement principle such as DustTrakTM II 8530
EP will be used in this project. The DustTrakTM II 8530 EP is a real time monitoring for
segregated aerosol mass concentration and is manufactured by TSI Incorporated, USA.
Some of the advantages of using DustTrakTM II 8530 EP for our measurement are:
1. It measures PM2.5 and PM 10 simultaneously, thus no need for multiple instruments for
different size fraction measurements.
2. It is handheld (highly portable), therefore it is easier to be installed.
3. It gives real time reading of segregated aerosol mass concentration (data acquisition rate up
to once per second).
4. Data-logging allow for data analysis during and after sampling.
5. It is battery operated but also able to be connected to AS power supply, therefore in case of
electricity shut down the measurement could be run with back up battery.
6. It is equipped with low power consumption external pump. The external pump is able to work
continuously for the whole year, which makes unattended monitoring in remote outdoor
locations easier.
7. It is relatively inexpensive compare to beta attenuation method and TEOM equipment.
8. It easy to operate and to program.
9. Easy-to-use graphical user interface with color touch-screen for effortless operation.
10. Automatic zeroing (with optional zero module) to minimize the effect of zero drift.

4.2

Principle

By using the selective inlet conditioners it is possible to measure the size segregated mass fraction
of particle simultaneously. In accordance to the objective of the project, selective inlet conditioner
for PM2.5 and PM10 will be used. The mass concentration of particulates in a sampled airstream is
determined based on photometric principle. As the light emitted from the laser diode is scattered by
particles drawn through the instrument, the amount of light scatter determines the particle mass
concentration.
Sensor type used in this series of instrument is 90 light scattering. As the air sample enters the
instrument it is then split into two parts. One half of the sampled air is passed through a HEPA filter
to remove particulates and used for sheath flow. The sheath flow keeps particulate contained in a
steady stream and reduces contamination of the optics. The other half of the sampled air passes
through an optics chamber.

14

As shown in Figure 8, the optics chamber consists of a laser diode, gold plated mirror, and photo
detector. The light from the laser diode passes through two lenses to create a sheet of light. The
sheet of light then passes through the sample air stream. A fraction of that light is diverted by the
particles in the sample and reflected off the gold plated mirror to the photo detector. The voltage
across the photo detector is multiplied by a calibration constant to determine the mass
concentration of the sample [5].

Figure 7 TSI DustTrakTM Model II Aerosol Monitor flow schematic (TSI, 2012)

4.3

Instrument/Equipment

The instrument of DustTrakTM II 8350 EP has a mass resolution of 0.1% of reading or 0.001
mg/m3 and a detection range of 0.001400 mm. Particle size which can be measured range
between 0.1 and 10 m. The specifications of the instrument are summarized in the Table.

Table 4 Specification of DustTrak TMII 8350 (TSI, 2012)

No.
1
2
3
4
5

Specification
Sensor Type
Particle Size Range
Aerosol Concentration Range
Resolution
Zero Stability

90 light scattering
0.1 to 10 m
0.001 to 400 mg/m3
0.1% of reading or 0.001 mg/m3
0.002 mg/m3 per 24 hours at 10
second time constant
15

Flow Rate

Flow Accuracy

8
9
10
11
12

Temperature Coefficient
Storage Temperature
Operational Humidity
Time Constant
Data Logging

3.0 L/min set at factory, 1.4 to

3.0 L/min user adjustable
5% of factory set point, internal
flow controlled
0.001 mg/m3 per C
-20 C to 60 C
0 to 95% RH, non-condensing
User adjustable, 1 to 60 seconds
5 MB of on-board memory

The external pump module provided with Model 8530EP is designed to run continuously for about
a year (8760 hours). There are two HEPA filters that protect the pump from contamination; one on
the suction side of the pump and the other on the discharge side of the pump [6]. The discharge
side of the pump collects particles shedding from the vanes of the pump and will turn black over
time. The HEPA filters will have to be replaced once a year.

Figure 8 External Pump of Instrument (TSI, 2012)

4.4

Operation

The instrument was located with an inlet height of around 2 m - 3 m installed on the top of the roof
and attached to the rigid pipe to avoid vertical and horizontal displacement. The flow set point is
factory set to 3 L/min total flow whereas 2 L/min of the total flow is measured aerosol flow while 1
L/min of total flow is split off, filtered, and used for sheath flow.
During the measurement period, as it more than 30 days, instead of using the batteries the AC
power will be used for the operation of instrument. However batteries will also be a power back up
in case of electricity shut down. Measurements are started and controlled from the main screen.
Prior to starting a measurement the instrument should be zeroed and the run mode should be
configured and selected. While taking a measurement the screen will display the current measured
mass concentration. The display of the screen is shown in the Figure.

16

Figure 9 Display of mass measurement on the screen (TSI, 2012)

Data were logged at 10 minutes intervals and averaged midday midday to match data from the
other reference monitoring method which is gravimetric method. Since the test length of the
instrument is from 1 minute to the limit of the data storage and it has 5 MB on board memory
(could store more than 60000 data points) then logged data will be downloaded from the
instrument after the measurement has done (at the end of the year 2014).

4.5

Maintenance

The DustTrakTM II 8530 requires maintenance on a regular basis. Some maintenance items are
required each time the DustTrakTM monitor is used or on an annual basis. Apart from the annual
maintenance, which will be done before the measurement start, some maintenance such as inlet
cleaning and replacement of internal filter are scheduled every two weeks during the measurement
period.
Within the measurement cleaning the inlet is supposed to be scheduled according to how much
aerosol is drawn through the instrument. TSI recommends cleaning the inlet sample tube after 350
hours of sampling a 1 mg/m3 concentration of aerosol. Replacement of the internal filters is also
recommended by TSI to be done in 350 hours at 1 mg/m3 or when the filter indicator on the main
screen changes to red. Refers to the background information of existing PM concentration, which
is around 350 - 900 g/m3, then the inlet cleaning and the replacement of internal filter will be
conducted every two weeks. All the required maintenance is listed on the Table.

Table 5 Required maintenance plan during measurement (TSI, 2012)

No.
1
2
3
4
5

Maintenance
Cleaning the inlet
Replacing internal filter
Perform zero check
Cleaning calibration impactor
Calibration

Period
Twice in a month
Twice in a month
Before every time of use
Before every time of use
Annually

17

4.6

Meteorological data measurement:

Since the particulate matter concentration is a parameter that varies with respect to seasons,
supporting meteorological data over the measurement period is needed for further assessment
analysis. Meteorological data such as such as wind direction, wind speed, temperature and
pressure will be collected from the existing meteorological station in Ulaan Baatar, since the
DustTrakTM are not able to measure those data during the measurement time. The existing
meteorological stations are Takhilt meteorological site, Choir weather station, Maanti weather
station and Ulaan-Baatar weather station.

18

5.

ORGANIZATION

5.1

Project Management

Well qualified personnel with a background of minimum master in Environmental Engineering and
experienced in air quality monitoring will be appointed as Project Manager. The Project Manager is
responsible for
1. Facilitate the definition of project missions, goals, tasks, and resource requirements.
2. Creates work standards for project; establishes and defines roles and responsibilities,
specific outcomes, and clear measures for quality and success of the team.
3. Lead planning and implementation of projects.
4. Responsibility for assembling the project staff; for their technical or functional development
during the project period.
5. Ensures that project status, issues and successes are communicated to project team,
stakeholders, and all levels of management and documented appropriately.

5.2

Project Administration

One project administration with minimum education in bachelor of Environmental Engineering and
experience in air quality monitoring will assist the project leader to manage some legal &
communication tasks as follow:
1. Manage communication with the local & national government of Mongolia.
2. Manage communication with the original equipment manufacturer personnel.
3. Manage project budget and resource allocation.

5.3

Original Equipment Manufacture

Original equipment manufacturer refers to the personnel from TSI, with whom the engaged with the
project team. She/he will be responsible for providing training and development for sampling
personnel. The training for the sampling personnel involves calibration, operation, maintenance,
data record management.

5.4

Sampling Personnel

Four sampling personnel will be assigned for the technical measurement activity. Each personnel
are responsible for two sampling points. Their tasks are setting up and operate the sampling
equipment according to the procedure, undertaking the maintenance and reporting the finding of
measurement activity.

5.5

Scheduling

The monitoring time period covers a full year, from January 2014 to December 2014, in order to
cover all the seasons and to provide the peak and annual average concentrations needed for the
further/ health effects assessment.
19

Figure 10 Organizational Chart

5.6

Evaluation Process:

The rules of calculus used when evaluating the measurement data are generally required [7]:
-

To obtain measured values from the measured signals;

To determine the air quality characteristics in question from the measured values, and
To estimate measurement uncertainties.

In order to ensure that the measurement process is reproducible, the analytical functions used their
parameters and the associated standard deviations and covariance are documented and included
in the measurement report [8].
5.7

Evaluation algorithms:

To determine the air quality characteristics, mathematical algorithms are used. To ensure theat the
evaluation are reproducible, the evaluation algorithms used are documented and included in the
measurement report [9]. To cross check, that the Dust Trak is functioning appropriately and
without with minimum deviations, periodic random gravimetric measurement is carried out and the
results are noted down.

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Detection Limits is the lowest quantity of a substance that can be distinguished from the absence
of that substance (a blank value) within a stated confidence limit (generally 1%). The detection limit
is estimated from the mean of the blank, the standard deviation of the blank and some confidence
factor. From the past records and seasonal measurements done in Mongolia, there are lower risks
that the measurement values will be below detection limit.
The Dust Trak will be using AC power and some spare batteries will be kept available in all times,
just be sure that the power cut would not lead to gap in measurement. As far as possible, all the
measured values will be continuous, but if in any case there is some discontinuity or outliers that
cannot be incorporated into the readings, it will be ignored and the next data in procession will be
taken into account.
5.8

Uncertainty of Result:

The uncertainty of the values measured is heavily influenced by the spatial distribution of
measurement locations as well as the number of such measurements carried out in order to obtain
representative mean values.
In the planning of measurement random samples are taken from gravimetric measurement and as
well as the periodic data from the local authority (i.e. Mongolian Government) is taken into account
to verify that the measurement station are working on proper order. The Gravimetric measurement
is done at least once in each seasonal variation and other random checks are done as per
requirement. Thus, at least one reliable data to check for seasonal variation is provided. The
standard deviations and variances are also calculated to keep in view of the uncertainty of results
obtained.

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6.

QUALITY ASSURANCE

The air quality monitoring station should be within a tightly controlled and documented quality
assurance and quality control system. The elements covered within this system include:
-

definition of monitoring objectives,

equipment selection,
site selection,
protocols for instrument operation calibration,
service and maintenance
integrity of calibration gas standards
data review
validation

All the calibration standards used for calibration will be certified by the instrument provider and
special trained personnel from the company will be available in case of malfunctioning. Verification
of calibration and instrumental techniques is achieved by regular participation. In order to avoid any
errors of procedures, routine random samples are taken and analyzed in gravimeter. Since, the
measurement is done continuous in a period of one year, initial calibration is supposed to be
enough for the whole measurement period.
The main task of quality assurance is to:

To check the instruments and the site infrastructure.

To recalibrate the transfer gas standards routinely used on-site, using standards recently
checked in the calibration laboratory. In addition, the air intake sampling system is cleaned
and checked

Data are compared with corresponding results from National Monitoring Network stations and with
expected air pollutant concentrations under the prevailing meteorological conditions. This review
process rapidly highlights any unusual or unexpected measurements, which may require further
investigation. When such data are identified, attempts are made to reconcile the data against
known or possible local air pollution sources or local meteorology, and to confirm the correct
operation of all monitors.
Afterwards, the data are fully validated and finalized, for compilation in planning of measurements
report. Following these requirements data checking and review procedures allows the overall
accuracy and precision of the data to be calculated. Wind speed and wind direction data from the
measurements within the Ulan Baatar area are checked by comparing against results from other
nearby monitoring locations.
6.1

Calibration

The DUSTTRAK TM monitor is calibrated with Arizona Road Dust (or ISO 12103-1, A1 test
Dust) at TSI [10]. Usually, Arizona Road Dust calibration is appropriate because it is representative
of a wide variety of ambient aerosols. But, since the test is being carried out in Mongolia with
different particle size and on site condition, which is significantly different from the A1 test dust, a
custom calibration with the aerosol of interest is needed to achieve improved accuracy for mass
and size differentiation.

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The Dust Trak monitor has two calibration factors: a photometric calibration factor (PCF) and a size
calibration factor (SCF) [11]. The PCF accounts for the photometric response difference between
A1 test dust and the aerosol being measured. The SCF accounts for the differences between
aerodynamic size and optical response. The factory default values for PCF and SCF are 1 [12].
For greater accuracy along with gravimetric sampling, the advanced calibration is done to ensure
an accurate result. The advanced calibration involves two gravimetric filter measurements and is
more accurate than the standard method of calibration.
The Dust Trak monitor combines photometry with single particle sizing for mass measurement.
Both photometry (PCF) and size (SCF) needs to be calibrated. If SCF is not calibrated, the
DUSTTRAK TM monitor assigns particles an incorrect size, which result in incorrect size
segregated mass concentrations. The one gravimetric calibration will only work when the aerosol
being measured is less than 2.5 m.

6.2

DUSTTRAKTM Advanced Calibration using Serial Gravimetric Calibration

The advanced calibration method is employed to yield high size segregated mass concentration
accuracy for PM1.0, PM2.5, Respirable and PM10 size fractions. It involves two gravimetric
measurements to obtain PCF and SCF.
The measurement is being done with only one gravimetric sampling device hence the calibration is
carried out in two serial steps. The experimental setup is in Figure 2. The calibration steps are
outlined below.

Figure 11 Setup for advanced series calculation

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6.3

Step 1: PCF Calibration

A PM2.5 impactor at the inlet of the external gravimetric filter is installed.

The gravimetric sample and Dust Trak monitor is simultaneously collocated and run to
collect enough mass on the gravimetric filter.
The PM2.5 mass concentration (PM2.5_Grav) is calculated, from the gravimetric filter
based on the net mass collected on the filter, sampling time, flow rate, and total litres of air
sampled.
The Dust Trak monitor average PM2.5 mass concentration (PM2.5_DRX) is read, from the
screen.
The new PCF in user calibration settings is updated.

The new PCF is calculated using the formula:

6.4

Step 2: SCF Calibration

PM10 impactor at the inlet of the external gravimetric filter is installed.

The gravimetric sample and Dust Trak monitor are simultaneously collocated and run, to
collect enough mass on the gravimetric filter.
The PM10 mass concentration (PM10_Grav) from the gravimetric filter is calculated based
on the net mass collected on the filter, sampling time, flow rate, and total liters of air
sampled.
The Dust Trak monitor average PM2.5 (PM2.5_DRX) and PM10 (PM10_DRX) mass
concentration from the screen is read.
The new SCF is calculated using the formula:

The new SCF in user calibration settings is updated.

7.

CONCLUSION

The continuous measurement of PM10 and PM2.5 will be done throughout the year across the city
of Ulaan Baatar. The measured values are compared with the limit values as prescribed by WHO
and Mongolian Government for clarity on air quality. The data acquired from the Dust Trak at the
eight stations give us an understanding of the nature and the quality of ambient air in Ulaan Baatar
and the data can be correlated with other factors that contribute to the Air Pollution. Dust Trak,
being an inexpensive direct reading dust monitor, helps reducing the technicalities with respect to
measurement and monitoring, thereby reducing the human interference.

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8.

REFERENCES

[1] Sereeter Lodoysamba.et.al: Air Particulate matter pollution in Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia;
determination of composition, source contributions and source locations, 2010
[2] National Environmental Agency, Mongolia, 2012
[3] Ryan.W.Allen: American Centre of Mongolian Studies, January 2013
[4] Gnter Baumbach: Air Quality Control, Springer Verlag, 1996
[5] TSI Inc, USA, 2012
[6] TSI Inc, USA, 2012
[7] - VDI 4280, Part 1 General Rules of the Planning of ambient air quality measurement, 1996
[8] - VDI 4280, Part 1 General Rules of the Planning of ambient air quality measurement, 1996
[9] - VDI 4280, Part 1 General Rules of the Planning of ambient air quality measurement, 1996
[10] - Manual for DUSTTRAK TM Aerosol monitor calibration methods
[11] - VDI 4280, Part 1 General Rules of the Planning of ambient air quality measurement, 1996
[12] - Manual for DUSTTRAK TM Aerosol monitor calibration methods

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