Automated Site-Specific Monitoring Plan
Trihydro worked with a Texas refinery to streamline its Refinery Sector Rule fenceline monitoring program by consolidating data and automating a Site-Specific Monitoring Plan (SSMP) for corrected benzene concentration calculations.
The client’s RSR fenceline monitoring program was granted an SSMP. The SSMP provided specific conditions that, when met, could justify applying a corrected benzene concentration to the client’s biweekly Delta C calculation.
However, checking fenceline monitoring compliance was laborious. Every two weeks, following each monitoring period, the client had to track every data point manually, verify it met the SSMP conditions, and then perform the corrected Delta C calculation. The client undertook this with spreadsheets and email for data transfer. This process was time-consuming, inefficient, and prone to errors.
Streamlining Delta C Tracking
To address these challenges, Trihydro developed a feature within Fenceline ProTM, our software for managing, analyzing, and reporting fenceline monitoring data, that automates the corrected benzene calculation.
Trihydro’s air quality specialists and technology development team collaborated to connect each of the continuous data sources and set up access for the client’s laboratory to upload results as soon as they were available. Once the analytical data were uploaded from the passive tube sampling, the corrected benzene calculation was applied, and the Delta C was calculated according to the RSR fenceline reporting requirements. The client confirmed that the calculation and SSMP methodology were proper, and Trihydro verified with the US Environmental Protection Agency that the Delta C calculation was correctly reported.
Launching the Site-Specific Monitoring Plan (SSMP) Feature
Trihydro launched the custom SSMP feature within Fenceline ProTM to be accessible to all users. The new feature streamlined the client’s Delta C tracking through intuitive analytical trends and mapping functions. It also provides automatic alerts if the Delta C calculation surpasses the SSMP action level, prompting potential root cause investigations by the client. Furthermore, the calculation features automated site-specific adjustments and reflects these adjustments in trends, analysis, and Compliance and Emissions Data Reporting Interface reports.
By housing all fenceline monitoring program requirements and SSMP specifications within a single data management solution, Trihydro improved the client’s data quality and simplified their reporting processes, leading to significant annual cost savings.
