Tribal Air Monitoring and Support Center

Radiation and Indoor Environments Laboratory

The Tribal Air and Mointoring Support Center (TAMS) is a model partnership co managed by the Northern Arizona University Institute for Tribal Professionals (NAU/ITEP) and the U.S. Envorinmental Protection Agecny Radiation and Indoor Envorinments National Laboratory (U.S. EPA/R&IE). Established in 1999, the TAMS Center was designed to build tribal capacity for environmental programs by providing training and technical assitance to tribal air professionals. The TAMS Center has a TAMS Steering Committee composed of tribal air quality professionals along with ex-officio members comprised of EPA, tribal organizations and ITEP staff that assist the TAMS Center in assessing and addressing tribal needs through training courses, one-on-one training opportunities and technical assistance.

The Virgil Masayesva Environmental Learning Center

The TAMS Center currently has a state of the art learning center located in Las Vegas, Nevada, that features a configurable space capable of holding up to 60 students and instructors. The space can be configured to hold a number of samplers that can be worked on by the attendees or it can be configured to hold up to 20 networked computers to facilitate the training of data handling and quality assurance. The training room can also be configured in multiple ways to hold lectures or hold meetings.

The audio visual equipment of the room allows for the instructors to utilize computers via multiple projectors, an electronic whiteboard for dynamic discussions that can be captured via computer and any visual media can be utilized (DVD, tape, satellite).

Learning Center Photo Album.

TAMS Center Training and Professional Assistance

The TAMS Center provides a host of training to tribal air professionals. Various courses in sampler use have been delivered mainly at the Virgil Masayesva Learning center in Las Vegas, Nevada, and some courses have been delivered at other locations in the US
Courses in:

Air Toxics Monitoring
Dataloggers
Air Quality System (AQS)
Air Pollution Technology

Environmental Radiation Monitoring
Meterorological Stations
Quality Assurance Project Plans (QAPP)
Air Monitoring Data Management

The TAMS Center delivers courses to tribal air professionals using a hands-on approach wherein the students have direct and intensive interaction with the samplers and with the instructors. The Quality Assurance Project Plans (QAPP) course features an innovative teaching tool, the Turbo QAPP, which allows students to quickly develop specific QAPPs for their application while in the course. Class sizes are limited to allow for close interaction.

A feature of the courses is that every course delivered features at least one tribal instructor. This assures that the tribal perspective is captured in all courses which will allow for effective courses to be delivered to tribal air professionals.

A Professional Assitance (PA) program at the TAMS Center is an added feature to the TAMS Center training model. The PA program allows the tribal air professionals who have attended TAMS training courses to contact TAMS Center for additional questions and support. This support if often times via phone conversations, but on-site training and technical assitance is also done.

Technical Assistance

The TAMS Center provides technical assistance to the tribes through equipment loan programs and through the Gravimetric Laboratory located in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Gravimetric Laboratory provides interim weighing services to tribes that are deploying PM 2.5 and/ or PM 10 networks but who are not yet experienced with contracting a commercial Gravimetric Laboratory. By working with the TAMS Gravimetric Laboratory, the air professionals acquire their weighing services while being exposed to the expected services and requirements of a commercial Gravimetric Labortatory. The TAMS Center also provides equipment loans to tribes to assist them in developing air monitoring sites utilizing the samplers located in Las Vegas, Nevada. This experience with samplers helps the tribes acquire the expertise in deploying an air monitoring site as well as acquiring experience with specific models of sampling equipment.

The TAMS Resource Information Center (RIC) is a tool that provides further technical assistance to tribes. The RIC is a centralized place for tribal air professionals, EPA regulations and quidance documents, textbooks and other materials that address air monitroing. The RIC also functions as an EPA Air Pollution Distance Learning Network (APDLN) downlink site.

Future Direction

The TAMS Center was originally conceived to build tribal capacity for ambient air monitoring. The TAMS Center, though, strives to build tribal compacity in environmental monitoring. Accordingly, the TAMS Center staff is working with other EPA offices to establish collaborative opporutnites to address other crtieria pollutants and provide multimedia support.