Welcome to the Emission Inventory (EI)/Tribal
Emission Inventory Software Solution (TEISS)
Training Curriculum: Course 2-EI Advanced
Module 8 - EI Data and Calculations
If you are not clear about the information in this section or are not sure why it is important, we recommend
that you take an introductory EI course. The EPA's Air Pollution Training Institute (APTI) provides a free
“Introduction to EI” web course that can be accessed at
http://www.epa.gov/air/oaqps/eog/course419a/index.html. The APTI web course can provide the
foundation of knowledge required for this training. The course number is SI-419A.
SLIDE 1: This module explains how emissions data are calculated and how data are structured in
TEISS. It also includes demonstrations on looking at the structure of point source data and nonpoint
source data in TEISS Input View. Learning objectives for this session:
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Know how emission estimates are made.
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Know what types of data are collected for different source types.
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Know how the data you collect are structured in TEISS
SLIDE 2: EIs contain ESTIMATES of emission rates from each source for the chosen list of pollutants.
Examples:
1,000 tons/year NOx from a
gas plant:
50 tons/day CO from onroad vehicles in Phoenix:
10 pounds/year mercury
from a small power plant:
Estimating emission rates for each source you choose to include in your inventory is the final goal of your
Level 1, 2, or 3 EI work. It is also very important to document the information you used to make your
estimate and the source of that information.
SLIDE 3: General discussion of how emissions can be estimated, using actual stack (e.g.)
measurements or different models. We don’t have to use these models (except for mobile, but we
recommend scaling down county-level estimates of mobile source emissions to a reservation-level
estimate using excel for mobile, so there is an option other than using mobile6 or whatever, and we have
not worked with that model or a tribe who has so between TEISS and excel we should be able to estimate
emissions)
SLIDE 4: How are emissions estimated?
Usually, Emission Factors are multiplied by Activity data (throughput) to get Emissions.
What are Emission Factors? Emission factors are conversion factors provided by EPA (AP-42) or other
sources to quantify emissions. For example, lbs of mercury per ton of coal burned in a boiler.
What are Activity data? Activity data must consist of process data. For example, tons of coal burned for
a small power plant or hours of operation for a tractor. This value is also called the throughput.
Multiplying the Emission Factor by the Activity gives the Emission rate for a single pollutant. For example,
10 pounds per year mercury from a small power plant.
Sometimes, emissions are directly measured and do not need to be calculated with the Emission Factors
and Activity. An example of this is a facility that has air monitoring equipment that can be used to
estimate annual emissions from their stacks.
SLIDE 5: Emission Equation
Basic estimating equation:
E = EF x A
E = Emission Rate
EF = Emission Factor
A = Activity
Example: Wood Burning stoves
EF = 34.6 pounds PM10 emitted per ton of wood burned
A = 1,000 tons of wood burned in woodstoves every year
E = 34,600 pounds PM10 emitted from woodstoves every year.
If you were estimating emissions with TEISS for a source, you collect and enter the Activity, aka
throughput, into the TEISS calculator. TEISS has the Emission Factors built into the calculators. After
entering the Activity data into the TEISS calculator and clicking on the Calculate button, TEISS estimates
the Emission Rate.
SLIDE 6: Where do activity data come from?
Process activity data:
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Directly from the source—e.g., after figuring out what info you need, call the gas station and just
ask them for about how many gallons of gas they sell
Permits-permit applications may be available online at the regional EPA website
Monitoring data, from EPA or the source
Questionnaires/Surveys-we have example letters that you could take to the source and ask them
to complete, or you could work with them over the phone to gather the information, using the
survey
If local data are not available, internet sources can be used to estimate activity data, although
usually the accuracy of the data decreases, more on this in an upcoming module.
SLIDE 7: Explains the structure of the next slides. Each source type has Data Collection slides,
information you collect about the source in real world terms, and TEISS Data Entry slides, how the data
collected fits into the TEISS structure.
SLIDES 8 and 9: POINT SOURCE DATA COLLECTION; What kind of data are collected and
reported for point sources?
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Location data, including the site name, physical address (not the corporate address or a PO Box),
and latitude/longitude coordinates of the physical location of the facility.
Stack parameter data if emissions are coming from a stack (if the facility is permitted, the stack
parameter data should be available on the permit).
o Height
o Diameter
o Flowrate
o Exit gas temperature
Process-level information could include
o Flow diagram
o Materials being consumed (type and amount)
o Boiler throughput
o Operating schedules
o Control devices/efficiencies
See the Emission Inventory System (EIS) training website for details on what data are submitted to the
NEI database.
SLIDE 10 refer people to this handout on the server: What point source DATA are housed in
TEISS?
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Facility data, including facility name and latitude/longitude coordinates of the physical location
Release Point data (vertical and fugitive are the two that are most commonly used. The other
options are horizontal, goose neck, vertical with rain cap, and downward-facing vent. The only
example I can think of for using these other options would be a vent. If you choose any other
option in TEISS than fugitive, you are required to fill in stack parameters, such as height,
diameter, exit gas temperature, etc.)
Emission Unit data (physical objects, such as a boiler, tank, machine, etc.)
Emission Process data (the event that occurs to produce the emissions. Yes, you select the SCC
based on the process. In TEISS, you then select the calculator at the reporting period level
based on the process.)
Control Equipment data, this can be at the Emission Unit or Emission Process level, but not both
Reporting Period data (time frame of emissions, usually annual, other options include seasonal,
monthly, ozone season, summer day, and episodic)
Emissions data
Each of these have a specific location and data entry screen in TEISS.
Demonstration of Viewing Point Data in Input View: I am going to look at how the data are
organized in TEISS for a facility in my area of interest. In my TEISS project, I click on the Input button in
the TEISS toolbar to open Input View. In the opening screen, in the Point Sources bar on the left of the
screen, you can see that the Point Locations item is selected. There is a list of counties on the right of
the screen. I select Coconino County by clicking on it.
I then click on the Facilities item and scroll through the list of facilities in Coconino County shown on the
right of the screen to find the facility I am interested in. I select EPNG-Williams Compressor Station by
clicking on it.
In the Point Sources bar on the left of the screen, you can see the data structure that we summarized in
the slide. The different items, such as Release Points, Emission Units, Processes, etc., can be explored
to learn more about this facility. I want to see what emission units are at this facility. Clicking on the
Emission Units item in the Point Sources bar on the left of the screen brings up this screen.
It shows 9 emission units located at this facility. These are typically physical objects that are associated
with processes that cause emissions. I am going to select Unit 001 by clicking on it and then clicking on
the Edit button (or double-clicking Unit 001) to see all the emission unit data available for this unit. That
brings up this screen.
This screen shows the different data elements that are part of the Emission Unit item. Green fields are
mandatory fields and white fields are optional fields. The Unit Type Code is unclassified, so this does not
tell me much about what goes on at this unit. I am going to click on the x button to close this window.
Now I am going to click on the Processes item under the Point Sources bar. The processes are the
events occurring at the unit that cause the emissions. There can be multiple processes at a unit. For
example, at a gas station, a storage tank is the emission unit. Multiple events occur at the tank that
cause emissions, for example, storage tank breathing, filling the storage tank, etc.
Breadcrumbs
panel
The important thing to notice here is that from this point on in the Point Sources bar, the data shown are
building from your previous selection in the Point Sources bar. For example, there is one process shown
in the right side of this screen. This process is associated with Emission Unit 001 because that is the
emission unit that was selected before I clicked on the Processes item. This is not the only process at
this facility, it is merely the only process associated with this emission unit (one up in the hierarchy, and
you can also keep track of the hierarchy in the Breadcrumbs panel at the top of the Linear Data Entry
screen). I am going to select this process by clicking on it and then click on the Edit button to view the
data elements of the Process item. That brings up this screen.
By looking at the Source Classification Code description, I can see that natural gas internal combustion
occurs at Emission Unit 001. Click on the x button of this window to close it.
There are several options for viewing processes associated with other emission units. The first option is
to select a different emission unit from the Emission Units item under the Point Sources bar. First click
on the Emission Units item, then select a different emission unit by clicking on it. I am going to select
Emission Unit 008.
Then clicking on the Processes item under the Point Sources bar, I can see that there is also one
process associated with Emission Unit 008.
To find out what this process is, click Edit (or double click) the Process, and you will see the editing
window that includes the Source Classification Code description. You can see how entering info in the
optional Process Description (for data that you enter yourself) field would make a clearer distinction of
what each process is in the Linear Data Entry screen.
Another option for viewing processes associated with different emission units is to use the arrow buttons
on the top of the right hand side of the Breadcrumb panel. There are three different sets of arrow buttons
at this point. Clicking on the Point Locations arrow buttons changes the county selected. Clicking on the
Facilities arrow button changes the facility selected. Clicking on the Emission Units arrow buttons
changes the emission unit selected. This is what I want to do. I am going to click the right arrow button
to go forward one emission unit.
This shows that there is also one process associated with Emission Unit 009.
Now I would like to look at the emissions from this facility. If I use the down arrow button under the Point
Sources bar, I can scroll down to the Actual Emissions item.
Clicking on the Actual Emissions item shows that the selected emission unit (Emission Unit 009) and
the selected process (Process 1) at this emission unit emit 0.56 tons of VOC. The only reporting period is
annual, as can be seen in the Breadcrumb panel.
Remember that the other emission units and processes at this facility have other emissions that are not
currently shown on this screen. To view those emissions, I can either select the units from the Emission
Units item and the processes from the Processes item under the Point Sources bar, or I can use the
arrow buttons in the Breadcrumb panel. I want to view the emissions for Emission Unit 008. I can use
the arrow buttons for the Emission Units in the Breadcrumb panel to scroll back to Emission Unit 008. I
can also select this unit from the dropdown list accessed by clicking on the down arrow button of
Emission Units in the Breadcrumb panel.
This screen shows that Emission Unit 008, Process 1, the only process occurring at the unit, has
emissions from eleven pollutants.
Next we are going to talk about nonpoint data. Since there are less data associated with nonpoint
sources, nonpoint sources have a simpler data structure in TEISS.
SLIDE 11: nonpoint sources DATA COLLECTION
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Type of process, examples:
o Gasoline storage tank refilling
o Unpaved roads
“Activity data” needed to calculate emissions, can be more than just a throughput value (as
shown in the examples). If calculating emissions with TEISS, activity data are entered into the
TEISS calculators to estimate emissions. Examples:
o Type of refilling process (splash or submerged)
 Note: If you cannot find out the filling process from the gas station, there is a
report that lists regulations by state: Developing a Consistent Methodology to
Calculate VOC and HAP Evaporative Emissions for Stage I and Stage II
Operations at Gasoline Service Stations for the 1999 NEI (DRAFT V2.0), Glenn
Tracy Johnson, PE
(http://www.epa.gov/ttn/chief/conference/ei12/area/johnson.pdf). This method of
determining the filling process should only be used if local data cannot be
obtained.
o Vehicle Miles Travelled (VMT), vehicle weight, speed, road silt content, etc.
Pollution-management practices or control measures, example:
o Dust abatement with water or petro-based chemical
SLIDE 12: What nonpoint data are housed in TEISS?
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Location
o Your reservation if you enter data for on-reservation sources
o
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A county if you import county-level data from the NEI database (explain the scalingdown-in-excel option from county to reservation areas)
Emission Process data
Control Equipment data
Reporting Period data (time frame of emissions, usually annual, and from whence the calculator
needs to be launched, just start repeating that into their ears)
Emissions data
Demonstration of Viewing Nonpoint Data in Input View: Going back to the TEISS project,
I click on the Nonpoint Sources bar.
On the left side of the screen, you can see that there are less items listed for nonpoint sources than there
were for point sources. This is because there are less data associated with nonpoint sources. I want to
look at data for Coconino County, so I am going to click on it in the list of counties on the right side of the
screen. Then on the left side of the screen under the Nonpoint Sources bar, I am going to click on the
Nonpoint Processes item.
On the right side of the screen is the list of processes, sources in other words, reported for this county.
The Process Description field is not populated (see how useful it would be to have this filled out, so as
much as possible do so for any processes you enter or edit), and since I do not have every Source
Classification Code memorized, I do not know what sources are represented here. I am going to pick the
first one to see the different data elements associated with the Nonpoint Process item. I click on it and
then click on the Edit button. This screen opens.
If you scroll through the screen, you can see that the Source Classification Code is the only mandatory
field of the Process item. You can see that this source is industrial combustion of distillate oil. Note that
entering text into the optional Process Description field makes it easier to identify the source in the Linear
Data Entry screen. I click on the x button to close this screen.
Next, I click on the Nonpoint Reporting Period item. The important thing to note here is that this is
where you must launch the TEISS calculator from if you are using the calculator to estimate nonpoint
emissions in your TEISS project. Clicking on the Estimate button brings up screens where you can
search for and launch the TEISS calculator to estimate emissions for the source. For point sources, the
Reporting Period item also has this button that performs the same function. More on using TEISS
calculators to estimate emissions in upcoming modules in this training.
To see the emissions associated with this source in Input View, I click on the Nonpoint Emissions item.
In the Breadcrumb panel, you can see that in Coconino County, this is the first of 168 nonpoint sources.
The only reporting period for this source is annual. There are emissions from many different pollutants for
this source. I close the TEISS input view, aka Linear Data Entry screen, by clicking on the x button of this
screen.
SLIDE 13: mobile sources DATA COLLECTION:
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On-Road Mobile sources
o Road types, such as rural major collector
o Vehicle types & use, such as heavy duty gasoline exhaust
o Vehicle Miles Travelled (VMT)
Off-Road Mobile sources
o Engine types, such as 2-stroke gasoline residential lawnmower
o Horsepower rating
o Hours of use
Model used to estimate emissions. Most On-Road and Off-Road emissions are estimated with a
model. For example, EPA MOVES model for On-Road emissions and EPA NONROAD model
for Off-Road emissions. If you obtain emissions estimates from the county, or state, or other
source, you need to find out what model they used to make the estimates.
SLIDE 14: What mobile source data are housed in TEISS? The data structure for mobile sources is
similar to that for nonpoint sources.
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Location
o Your reservation if you enter data for on-reservation sources
o A county if you import county-level data from the NEI database
Process data. Use the SCC, which is necessary in NEI, and for their own records, but they would
not calculate emissions with TEISS, but use the county-scaled-down-proportionally-using-excel
method, and enter these reservation-only emissions in TEISS so the NEI-formatted file can be
generated, and they can use the charting function
Reporting Period data (time frame of emissions, usually annual)
Emissions data (you enter based on road length, type, as a proportion of similar roads in the
county as a whole or from EPA model calculations)
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SLIDE 15: Fire Source DATA COLLECTION: What kind of data are collected and reported for fires?
Fires are a special case because they cover a large are, like a nonpoint source, but in a defined location
like a point source. Data elements of fires include:
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Dates of the fire
Latitude/Longitude coordinates
Fire type, for example, wildfire or prescribed burn
Number of acres burned
In the new EPA format and TEISS, fires are reported as events. Exceptions: agricultural fires and
structure fires are still reported as nonpoint sources.
EPA will only be accepting input corrections for Event fires for 2014 and beyond. They are working
towards mapping wild and prescribed fires to Indian country. This will allow the Tribes to review and
correct the inputs prior to being included in EIS. It could end up that fire data is simply imported from EIS
after inputs have been reviewed instead of entry of data fields into TEISS.
SLIDE 16: What fire source data are housed in TEISS?
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Event identification data
Reporting Period data (time frame of the fire)
Location
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o Your reservation if you enter data for on-reservation fires
o A county if you import county-level data from the NEI database
Geographic Coordinates data
Emissions Process data (wildfire or prescribed burn)
Emissions data (EPA calculates wildfire emissions for tribes and you can find them online.
Emissions can also be calculated with TEISS, but it is much easier to download emissions from
EPA.)
SLIDE 17 HOMEWORK: Make a list of the nonpoint sources on the reservation that you plan to
include in your EI. Remember that you identified large nonpoint sources of interest in the work you have
completed on your Level 4 EI. You can use this to assist you in selecting the nonpoint sources for your
Level 1, 2, or 3 EI. Review the Nonpoint section of the ITEP Tribal EI QAPP example. Using the TEISS
calculators, write out the estimation methods and data you need to collect for the nonpoint sources,
similar to the example shown below. Write up the Nonpoint section of your QAPP. Email it to the
instructors.
Nonpoint Sources to Include in the Tribe’s 2008 Emission Inventory and Proposed Emission Estimation
Method
Category
Estimation Method and Data Needed
In order of largest to smallest emissions based on the 1997 EI.
Unpaved Road Dust
Method: AP-42 13.2.2 – Fugitive Dust Sources, Unpaved Roads. (Nov.
2006). Data Needed: Annual vehicle miles traveled (VMT) on reservation
unpaved roads, estimate of road silt content, surface material moisture
content, mean vehicle weight and mean vehicle speed.
Paved Road Dust
Method: AP-42 13.2.1 – Fugitive Dust Sources, Paved Roads. (Nov. 2006).
Data Needed: Annual vehicle miles traveled (VMT) on reservation paved
roads, road surface silt loading, average weight of vehicles traveling the
roads.
Residential WoodBurning Stoves
Method: EIIP Volume 3, Chapter 2, Residential Wood Combustion. (Apr.
2001). Data Needed: Types and number of woodstoves on reservation
(conventional, catalytic, noncatalytic), tons of wood burned in woodstoves,
type of wood burned in woodstoves.
Consumer Solvents
Method: AP-42 4.10, Consumer Solvent Use. (Apr. 1981). Data Needed:
reservation population.
Non-Industrial Surface
Coating (Architectural
Surface Coating)
Method: AP-42 4.2.1, Non-Industrial Surface Coating. (Sep. 1991). Data
Needed: reservation population.
Residential Natural Gas
Combustion
Method: AP-42 1.4, Natural Gas Combustion. (July 1998). Data Needed:
Standard cubic feet of natural gas consumed annually on the reservation.
Agricultural Tilling
Method: Western Regional Air Partnership (WRAP) Fugitive Dust Handbook,
Chapter 2, Agricultural Tilling. Data Needed: Silt content of surface soil and
number of passes or tillings in a year.
Source categories to be inventoried in 2008 that were not included in the 1997 EI.
Construction Dust
Method: Western Regional Air Partnership (WRAP) Fugitive Dust Handbook,
Chapter 3, Construction and Demolition. (Sept. 2006). Data Needed:
Acres of land disturbed by the construction activity, and the duration of the
activity.
Pesticide Use
Method: AP-42 9.2.2, Pesticide Application. (Jan 1995). Data Needed: Total
quantity of pesticide applied, method by which pesticide is applied, name
of active ingredient(s) (AI), vapor pressure of AI(s), type of formulation (e.
g., emulsifiable concentrate, granules, microcapsules, powder), percentage
of inert ingredients and quantity or percentage of volatile organic
compounds (VOC) in the inerts.
Residential Propane
Combustion
Method: AP-42 1.5, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Combustion (July 2008)
Data Needed: Gallons of propane consumed annually on the reservation.
Open Burning of Solid
Waste (Burn Barrels)
Method: AP-42, Open Burning (Oct 1992). Data Needed: Tons of municipal
refuse burned annually at the reservation.
Automobile Painting
Method: AP-42 4.2.1, Non-Industrial Surface Coating. Data Needed:
Number of employees engaged in automobile refinishing.