Welcome to the Emission Inventory (EI)/Tribal
Emission Inventory Software Solution (TEISS)
Training Curriculum: Course 2-EI Advanced
Module 9-Unit Conversions and EI Codes
SLIDE 1: This presentation discusses converting data between different units and codes used in EIs. It
includes a demonstration of the TEISS Unit Converter tool and finding codes in TEISS. Learning
objectives for this session:

Know how to convert data between different units.

Know how to use the TEISS Unit Converter tool.

Know what common codes are used in EI data.

Know how to search for codes in TEISS.
SLIDE 2: Unit Conversions and TEISS
TEISS does some of the math that needs to be done to estimate emissions. Remember that the basic
equation for calculating emissions is Emission Factor (EF) x Activity Data = Emissions. The EFs are built
into the TEISS calculators and you provide the activity data. TEISS then calculates the emissions.
Sometimes, you are likely going to have to convert the activity data to the units that are being asked for in
the TEISS calculator input.
SLIDE 3: Activity Data Example
Here is an example of when you would
need to convert the activity data. If we
open the TEISS Agricultural Tilling
calculator, you can see that the Total
Area Tilled activity value you enter
needs to be in units of acres. If you
have collected activity data in other
units, you need to convert the data.
For example, if you determined there
are 100 square miles of area tilled, you
would need to convert that to acres. It
is very important that you pay attention
to the units that the TEISS calculators
are asking you to enter your activity
data in. If you enter the activity data in
the incorrect units, the emissions that
the TEISS calculator estimates are also
going to be incorrect.
SLIDE 4: Emission Factors
Why do we need to enter the activity data in specific units? The EF in itself is basically a factor that gives
how much pollutant is emitted for how much throughput there is. The units of the activity data need to
match the units of denominator of the EF. Someone did research and determined, for example:
 How many pounds of PM10 are emitted/acre of area tilled
 How many pounds of PM2.5 are emitted/vehicle mile traveled
 How many pounds of mercury are emitted/ton of coal burned
TEISS stores these values in the calculators. You provide the activity data and TEISS calculates the
emissions based on these EFs.
SLIDES 5, 6, and 7: Unit Converter in TEISS
TEISS has a handy unit converter utility built into it to help you convert your data to the necessary units.
It acts as a calculator that already has unit conversions built in.
You access the unit converter by selecting Tools in the menu of TEISS and then selecting Unit Converter.
Unit Converter Demonstration
Here is how the Unit Converter tool looks when it first opens.
Begin by selecting a Conversion Category. Going back to our agricultural tilling example, we want to
convert 100 square miles to acres. Can anyone tell me what Conversion Category I should select? The
answer is Area. When I click on the Conversion Category of Area, lists of area units come up in the tool.
In the Unit Conversion Input, I need to enter the value that I want to convert from. In this case, that is
100. Then I select the units I want to convert from by clicking on that entry. In this example, that is
Square Miles.
In the next column, I select the units that I want to convert to by clicking on that entry. In this case, that is
Acres. After I do that, the value is displayed in the Unit Conversion Output.
Now I know that 100 square miles equals 64,000 acres. I can copy this value from the Unit Conversion
Output and paste it into the TEISS calculator or I can write it in my logbook to enter into the TEISS
calculator. You can play with the different conversion categories to see what units are available for
conversion. This slide shows some of the mass units.
SLIDE 8: Energy Unit Conversion
Converting energy units often requires knowing the energy density of a given material. The energy
density can vary within the same material. Because of this variation in energy densities, the TEISS Unit
Converter tool cannot convert energy to other unit categories, such as volume. Often, you have to do
energy unit conversions by hand or in a spreadsheet.
SLIDE 9: Energy Density
Here are some examples of varying energy densities within the same material.
 Natural gas from different sources provides differing amounts of energy
o High-heating value gas has an energy density of 1027 BTUs/ft3
o Low-heating value gas has an energy density of 930 BTUs/ft3
o Most gas is somewhere in-between
 Different kinds of wood provide different amounts of heat when burned
SLIDE 10: Energy Density Defaults
Sometimes, you can get information on the energy density values from local sources. For example, the
natural gas company that provides the fuel might be able to tell you what the energy density of the gas
they provide is. You might have to use a different term, such as the heating value or the heat input
instead of the energy density value, when speaking with them. The internet might also be a source to get
these values from. If you cannot find out the energy density of the natural gas or wood used in your area,
you can use default values.


For natural gas, EPA’s AP-42 gives 1020 BTUs/ft3, this source also has energy density default
values for other materials
For wood, TEISS provides a converter within the wood-burning calculators
 Allows you to enter volume of wood (cords) and specify wood type
 Then it calculates tons of wood per cord required to do calculation
SLIDE 11: Next we are going to talk about how codes are used in TEISS and EIs. Why do we need
codes? We need codes because of computers. EI data are stored in databases. Databases are most
efficient when they store information by codes, instead of long text descriptions. Codes also allow
standardization of descriptions and categories. In TEISS, you often see the code and the associated
description of what the code means. This makes reviewing and entering data easier.
Examples: The state of Colorado can be written in many ways, for example Colorado, CO, Co, Colo.,
each of these are different to a computer. A database needs a standard format, 08 is the FIPS code for
Colorado and is the only entry that the database recognizes for Colorado.
SLIDE 12: Tribal EIS Codes
FIPS = Federal Information Processing Standard. States and counties have a distinct FIPS code in
TEISS. The state FIPS code is two digits, while the county FIPS code is three digits.
Examples:
Kickapoo Tribe EIS code = 861
Kansas FIPS code = 20
Brown County FIPS code = 013
SLIDE 13: Source Classification Codes (SCCs)
SCCs are very important in EI data. They describe the source you are reporting emissions for. SCCs are
the primary identifying data element in the EPA National Emission Inventory (NEI) database. SCCs are
assigned at the process level. Every process in TEISS must have an SCC. There are approximately
9000 valid SCCs maintained by EPA. Assigning an SCC to a process is similar to a biologist assigning a
species to a life form. It is a classification system. Point source SCCs are eight characters and SCCs for
the other data categories are ten characters.
The next few slides show how SCCs are structured. Knowing how the codes are put together can make
them easier to search for in TEISS.
SLIDE 14: Example SCC for a Point Source
30200501-In this eight character SCC, there are four levels of descriptions.
 SCC Level 1 Description: The first character, 3, tells us it is an “Industrial Process”
 SCC Level 3 Description: The next two characters, 02, tell us it is a “Food and Agriculture”
process
 SCC Level 6 Description: The next three characters, 005, tell us it is a process associated with
“Feed and Grain Terminal Elevators”
 SCC Level 8 Description: The last two characters, 01, tell us it is a process associated with
“Shipping and Receiving”
The descriptions start general and get more specific. Each builds off of the previous description, for
example, by the SCC Level 3 Description, we know that the food and agriculture process is in the
industrial arena.
If you have a wheat elevator on your reservation and you search for "wheat elevator", the TEISS SCC
search engine may not find the exact code you are looking for. You could then scroll through the list of
"Food and Agriculture" codes that the search did bring up until you came to the SCC Level 6 Description
of "Feed and Grain Terminal Elevators". Once you've found those codes, you could look to see what
kinds of processes have SCCs at grain terminal elevators and pick the one that best describes the
emissions producing process you are including in your EI. In this example it is "Shipping and Receiving."
SLIDE 15: Example SCC for a Nonpoint Source
2610030000-In this ten character SCC, there are four levels of description.
 SCC Level 2 Description: The first two characters, 26, tell us it is a process associated with
“Waste Disposal, Treatment, and Recovery”
 SCC Level 4 Description: The next two characters, 10, tell us it is a process associated with
“Open Burning”
 SCC Level 7 Description: The next three characters, 030, tell us it is a “Residential” process
 SCC Level 10 Description: The last three characters, 000, tell us it is a process associated with
“Household Waste”
You want to include home burn barrels as an emission source in your EI, but when you search for "burn
barrels", the TEISS SCC search engine may not find the exact code you are looking for. You could then
quickly scroll to the "Waste Disposal, Treatment, and Recovery" codes that the search did bring up, then
scroll through those until "Open Burning" catches your eye. Within the "Open Burning" codes, you would
look at the SCC Level 7 Description and the SCC Level 10 Description to find the exact code to use for
people burning their residential household trash.
Remember when you worked with the TEISS reports for your Level 4 EIs. These SCC level descriptions
correspond with the TEISS reports that are specific to SCC. In the TEIS report filter, you can specify the
SCC Level to get the more specific categories, such as the different fuel types used for residential heating
emissions. These are the same SCC levels that I used to get more specific data.
You cannot have duplicate SCCs in one location for Nonpoint sources. In other words, there cannot be
two of the same nonpoint SCCs in a county inventory or tribe inventory. This makes sense when you
think about it. Remember that nonpoint sources are sources whose individual emissions do not qualify
them as a point source, however collectively these sources can emit significant amounts of a pollutant.
The key word here is collectively. Since these sources are inventoried collectively, you would not have
duplicate nonpoint sources in the same inventory. For example, you might have an EPA certified catalytic
woodstove source in your inventory. That would be a collection of every EPA certified catalytic
woodstove in your inventory area. You might have a similar source in your inventory, such as an EPA
certified non-catalytic woodstove, but you would not have two of the same sources with the same SCC.
Having duplicate nonpoint SCCs in the same inventory would be like reading a book that had two
characters with the exact same name; it would not make sense.
For nonroad and onroad sources, you can have duplicate SCCs if the assigned emission type
(evaporative, refueling, exhaust, etc.) is different. For point sources, you can have duplicate SCCs, as
long as they are for different processes, units, or facilities. For example, you can have a reciprocating
internal combustion natural gas engine SCC at several different facilities, or for several different units at
the same facility.
SLIDE 16: SIC and NAICS Codes
SIC = Standard Industrial Classification.
NAICS = North American Industrial Classification System
These are economic sector codes that only apply to point sources. In 1997, NAICS replaced SIC.
NAICS organizes business categories on production/process-oriented basis. Every point source in
TEISS must have a NAICS Code.
SLIDE 17: Example of a TEISS code screen
This screen shows the NAICS code selection screen in TEISS. There are many available NAICS codes,
so to find the code you are looking for, you can type text in the Text to Search field. Then you would click
on the binoculars icon. Then, only codes containing the text you specified in their description are shown.
To see every code again, press the Show All button.
The defaults for the search are the Search Using All Fields selection and the Any Word Starting With
selection. For your first search, I recommend leaving these default selections. These selections give the
most records. If the first search gives too many records, you might want to adjust these selections.
Finding Codes Demonstration
Now, I am going to search for SCCs in TEISS. In the menu of TEISS, select View, then select SCC
Codes.
This SCC Database viewing window comes up. Notice there are two tabs, one for Point and one for
Areas (includes Nonpoint, On-road Mobile, Non-road Mobile, and Event sources) codes.
First, I am going to find an SCC for a point source, a lumber mill. I make sure the Point tab is active. I
first try typing "lumber mill" into the Text to Search field, then click on the binoculars icon or press Enter
on my keyboard. The search comes up with a long list of apparently unrelated codes for "lumber mill."
The number preceded by # in the right upper corner of this window tells the number of SCCs shown. This
search produced 457 SCCs.
I need to think of another word to type in to find the right code. Next I try searching for "wood". For the
word "wood", the top of the search result list contains a couple of codes for which wood is the fuel listed in
the SCC 6 Description. However, scrolling down a little further, I see "Pulp and Paper and Wood
Products" in the SCC 3 Description. Now I am getting closer. I keep scrolling until I see "Sawmill
Operations" in the SCC 6 Description. I use the SCC 8 Description to select the exact activities that occur
at the lumber mill.
Note that you can “pull”out the column borders just as you can in excel, by putting the cursor over the
column border in the header row, and when the cursor is a double-facing black arrow, double-clicking to
pull open the column the full width of the longest item in that column, or just drag it out until you can read
the words you need. Also, you can sort numerically or alphabetically by double-clicking on a column
header.
Next, I want to find a nonpoint SCC. I am going to classify the gas stations in my area as nonpoint
sources. First, I need to click on the Areas tab. Can anyone give me suggestions of what I should try
typing in the Text to Search field? (Try the options the class recommends here. If this does not yield
results, give the answer of “station” or “petroleum”.) Scroll down to the SCC 4 Description of “Petroleum
and Petroleum Product Storage”. I keep scrolling until I see that the SCC 7 Description of “Gasoline
Service Stations”. I use the SCC 10 Description to select the exact activities that occur at the gas
stations.
NOTE: As you followed along with these examples, you might have noticed that some of the SCCs in the
SCC Database viewing window of TEISS are not selectable (grayed out). These are SCCs that were
valid for previous NEI cycles, however they cannot be used for the current NEI cycle and therefore cannot
be assigned to new sources entered into a TEISS project. These had to be left in TEISS in order to
accommodate projects imported from previous versions of TEISS that used these codes. You might see
grayed out codes in other code selection tables in this version of TEISS.
To close the SCC Database viewing window, click on the x button in the top right corner of the screen.
SLIDE 18 HOMEWORK: Answer the questions in the UnitConversionExercise document. There are
two pages of questions in the document. Remember to use the TEISS Unit Converter tool when possible
to assist with the unit conversions. Find the SCCs for each of the sources in the Homework_EICodes
document. Write down the SCC and the words you typed into the Text to Search field to find these SCCs.
Email your answers to the questions in both assignments to the instructors.