Moss Landing Air: Is there a difference between air monitoring and air sampling?
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Yes. Monitoring and sampling are used to accomplish different goals.
Air monitoring is often used for emergencies because you get results immediately. Air monitoring at the site occurs continuously, 24/7 and shows patterns and changes in the air in real time. The air is monitored for PM2.5, PM10, and hydrogen fluoride gas.
Air sampling takes physical samples of the air which are sent to an independent laboratory for analysis. Sampling looks at what was in the air over the entire day and provides us with an average daily concentration of contaminants. The air is sampled for aluminum, asbestos fibers, cobalt, copper, manganese, and nickel.
For more information about community safety, see our EPA Factsheet: Keeping the Community Safe (pdf) .
Related Questions
- Moss Landing Air: What air monitoring activities did you do during the January fire response?
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- Moss Landing Air: What did you test for during the fire?
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- Moss Landing Air: Can you detect nanoparticles in the air with the instrumentation you used during the initial response?
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