LabAnalysis Environmental Science provides monitoring services for the major atmospheric pollutants to ensure compliance with both Italian and European regulatory objectives and to respond to the public's demand for well-being and environmental protection.
Within this sector, we conduct monitoring of air pollution using monitoring stations and mobile laboratories, as well as monitoring of odors and odor-causing compounds, and asbestos.
Our services are primarily aimed at industrial plant operators, waste management facilities (landfills, incinerators, waste-to-energy plants, etc.), as well as local administrators and private citizens seeking answers regarding air quality control.
Air quality monitoring
The activity of atmospheric pollution monitoring is carried out using monitoring stations and mobile laboratories that can be installed near critical areas to be monitored.
The main purpose of this activity is to monitor pollutants as defined in Legislative Decree 155/2010.
The main areas of application include monitoring during the construction of major projects, public works, and environmental impacts during construction phases in industrial settings. LabAnalysis Environmental Science has various equipped mobile units for conducting the micro-pollutants and macro-pollutants required in monitoring plans: total particulate matter, PM10, PM2.5, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, ozone, hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds, sulfur compounds and mercaptans, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, dioxins and furans, ammonia, asbestos, odor, and related odorous substances.
Monitoring of odor and odorigenic substances
LabAnalysis Environmental Science conducts odor measurement and characterization of odorous substances by combining dynamic olfactometry, using a panel of examiners, with highly specialized analyses involving high-sensitivity instrumentation.
Odor measurement is carried out according to the UNI EN 13725 standard, which involves determining the odor concentration of a gaseous sample using dynamic olfactometry with a panel of examiners. The methodology is applicable to odor emissions from chimneys or from area sources such as biofilters, purification tanks, or piles.
The chemical characterization of odorous substances is performed by air sampling using specific supports (canisters and vials). The analysis involves gas chromatographic systems with mass spectrometry coupled with thermal desorption, as specified in the EPA TO-15 and EPA TO-17 standards. The versatility of canister sampling allows for varying the monitoring duration from 30 minutes to 48 hours.
Foresight studies and models of dispersion of odorigenic substances and pollutants in the air
The impact of pollutant/odor emissions in the atmosphere is determined through the application of an atmospheric dispersion model, which calculates the concentration of pollutants at ground level by processing emission data, meteorological data, and terrain profile data.
For the calculation of the dispersion of pollutants and odor emitted into the atmosphere, the CALPUFF model is employed, developed by Earth Tech Inc. on behalf of the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA).
CALPUFF is a multi-layer, multi-species, non-steady-state Gaussian puff dispersion model; it can simulate the effects resulting from varying meteorological conditions over time and space on the transport, transformation, and removal of all inert or weakly reactive pollutants, assessing concentration levels and deposition fluxes of the pollutants. It can also handle odor emissions.
CALPUFF is one of the models officially cited by the US EPA for air quality estimation and is listed among the models recommended by APAT (Italian Agency for Environmental Protection and Technical Services) for the assessment and management of air quality.
