Annual Data Summary, Olympic National Park 1997, National Park Service, Gaseous Air pollutant Monitoring Network

National Park Service, Air Resources Division

Gaseous air pollutants, including ozine and sulfur dioxide, are of concern to the National Park Service (NPS). Pollutants like these can affect park unit biological resources as well as the health of park unit residents and visitors. The NPS established a gaseous pollutant monitoring program for several pollutants linked to effects on NPS resources. This program was designed to meet certain resource management objectives. ... The primary objective of this monitoring program is to establish the status and trends of park unit air quality conditions and to determine if a park unit is exceeding the National Ambient Air Quality Standards established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to protect publich health and wlefare. In addition, such monitoring is designed to detect changes or trends in pollution levels over time. ... Other monitoring objectives call for the collection of data to support the National Park Service's required involvement in both the development of state iar quality control plans, and the evaluation of permit applications for new or expanding air pollution sources wishing to locate near park units. ... This report includes a variety of data summaries for data collected at an individual monitoring site at a national park duing this reporting period. ... Air of Olympic is generally clean when fronts move across the park from the Pacific. However, during inversions or on occasions when winds are from the nrotheast or southeast, or when slash burns are in progress adjacent to the park, visibility and ambient air quality are impacted.