Railroad-Related Activities

Air Quality and Railroads in Georgia:
Summary: While the use of railroads for shipping has a lower overall impact on air quality when comparing with moving equivalent tons of cargo by trucks, recent air quality and health evaluation studies indicate that railroad emissions are major contributors to both ozone and PM2.5 concentrations in polluted urban areas. Georgia is out of attainment with the federally mandated National Ambient Air Quality Standards for both of these pollutants in counties with very high railroad activity levels.

Areas out of attainment of the Ozone and Particulate Matter (PM)
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) (EPA, 2007b).

Georgia counties exceeding the NAAQS for both ozone and PM 2.5 are outlined in red . Five “urban core” nonattainment counties are outlined in green. Population density is shown with blue squares, and blue lines are railroad tracks.

Attempts to control ozone in Georgia have been underway for a number of years and sources that have not previously been controlled beyond federal requirements now need to be considered for additional NOx reductions. Dispersed, ground level sources of NOx such as the large diesel engines used by railroads produce ozone most efficiently, so reduction of these emissions is a promising ozone control strategy. Source apportionment of measured PM2.5 indicates that diesel combustion is a large contributor to polluted urban PM2.5 monitoring sites, and the clear historical dominance of measurements from a site near a large railyard supports this finding and further indicates that rail yards contribute a significant fraction of the diesel component of PM2.5 in the Atlanta nonattainment area. To better understand railroad impacts on air quality in Georgia and to evaluate the impacts of potential emission reduction plans, we are improving the current railroad emissions inventory for use in air quality impact analysis and the development of an effective pollution reduction strategy.

Technical Working Group Meeting, 3/21/07, EPD, Atlanta GA
This meeting was held to bring together Georgia Class I and Shortline Railroad representatives with members of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division and other agencies to discuss issues related to air quality and emissions from railroad-related activities. Important goals of this meeting were to provide an overview of air quality in Georgia and some methods utilized for designing and evaluating air quality management strategies; to gain insight and information needed to improve the representation of railroad-related emissions in the state emissions inventory; to learn about the railroad industry perspective of and participation with environmental programs related to air quality; and to discuss potential emissions control measures.
Agenda
Attendees
Presentations
Handouts

Emission Inventory Improvement Plan

Air Quality Impact Analysis Plan

References