Dust, Gas, Noise & Weather Monitoring of Construction

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SERVICES DELIVERED:

SCOPE:  Deliver a unique hardware and software monitoring solution to minimize potential impact of construction dust and contaminants on downwind communities at the nation’s busiest commuter line. 

This included compliance with New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) DER-10 – Technical Guidance for Site Investigation and Remediation and associated Community Air Monitoring Plan (CAMP).

Specto Technology provided 25 Portable Air Quality Stations powered by the Aeroqual AQS 1, configured for PM10, VOC, Noise, Weather, Camera and Telemetry.

PROJECT OVERVIEW:

THE CUSTOMER

• Vibranalysis Inc. is a consulting services firm located in New York City. The firm provides a wide range of instrumentation and monitoring services to general contractors, construction and engineering firms, developers, excavators and demolition companies.
• One of Vibranalysis’ core activities is assisting clients to reduce risk to the communities located near construction activity. In New York State, this includes compliance with New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) DER-10 – Technical Guidance for Site Investigation and Remediation and associated Community Air Monitoring Plan (CAMP).

THE PROBLEM

• Highway congestion and idling vehicles are a major contributor to air pollution.
• The MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) Expansion Project will help all New Yorkers breathe easier by getting more people out of cars and onto mass transit. Vibranalysis’ client, a joint venture between some of the world’s largest civil contractors and design firms, was tasked with construction of the LIRR Expansion Project.
• The project is a signature initiative of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’sand part of his comprehensive, interconnected plan to improve transit and transportation throughout the New York region. Estimated to cost $2.6 billion, the project will exponentially strengthen the region’s economy and will create a far more robust Main Line for the 500,000 weekly passengers who use the nation’s busiest commuter rail line.
• A third track and associated infrastructure, extending about 10 miles, was planned for construction through highly concentrated residential communities in Nassau County, NY.
• As it was anticipated that the work could have impact on the downwind community, from dust and potential airborne contaminants generated during construction activities, the project had to comply with NYSDEC DER-10 including a requirement for community air monitoring.

UNIQUE CHALLENGES:

• Under DER-10, and the resulting CAMP, real-time monitoring for PM10 and VOCs had to be conducted at both the upwind and downwind perimeter locations of each work area for 15 sites in total.
• The monitoring locations also needed to be modified accordingly in the event a substantial change in wind direction was experienced.
• Air monitoring was required during active work hours and during ground-intrusive and railroad-intrusive activities, or demolition of contaminated or potentially contaminated structures.
• Howard Jameson, Vibranalysis Vice President, and his team investigated several air monitoring options and selected the Aeroqual AQS 1 available from Specto Technology.
• This all-in-one PM10 and VOC monitor not only met the requirements outlined in DER-10, and the resulting CAMP plan, but exceeded those requirements in a convenient package.
• This allowed the team to remotely monitor each site during construction activities, and compile the data from the Aeroqual Cloud server on an on-demand basis.
• Aeroqual and channel partner Specto Technology worked with Vibranalysis, to integrate the AQS 1 air monitors with Class 1 sound level meters, weather stations, digital cameras, and a telemetry Cloud data solution.
• The instruments were installed on portable trailers running on battery and solar panels.
• Vibranalysis commissioned 25 portable air quality stations, powered by the AQS 1, for use along the 9.8-mile project alignment throughout the impacted communities.
• The resulting real-time data allowed Vibranalysis to notify their client if concentrations above the response levels for PM10 or VOCs were observed. Aeroqual Cloud was linked to eagle.io a site-specific IoT dataplatform and used to issue real-time alerts via email.
• The client used the data and alerts to meet the requirements of DER-10 for NYSDEC.

RESULT: