Outdoor Air Quality
1. Illegal Burn Barrels
2. Deisel Schoolbus Retrofit
3. Wind Feasability Studies
4. PM 2.5 Monitoring
5. Dioxin Monitoring
6, Mercury Monitoring
7. Meteorological Data Collection
1. Illegal Burn Barrels
Download the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe
Division of Resource Management
Burn Ordinance
Do you know the following about Garbage Burning?
• Is not allowed on the Leech Lake Reservation or anywhere in Minnesota
• Harms your family’s health
• Pollutes air, water and soil in your yard and your neighbors
• Causes wildfires 40% of wildfires in Minnesota every year
• Backyard barrel burning of trash is currently a major source of dioxins to the
environment.
Is this a new concern?
No, burning garbage has been illegal in MN since 1969 and on Leech Lake since 2006. Today’s garbage is made up of more than wood, paper and glass but rather a mixture of synthetics and plastics that release a mixture of cancer-causing chemicals when burned. Backyard burning is the leading source of dioxin emissions that result in many health implications. Dioxin is second in its toxicity to radioactive waste; just 3 ounces would be enough to kill one million people.
What pollution does our garbage emit?
Paper
bleached white paper releases halogenated hydrocarbons, inks and dyes give off toxics, some are coated with plastics to make them shinny, some have plastic windows
Plastic
Plastics is a HUGE source of chlorine & hydrochloric acids.
Heavy metals
Produces arsenic, styrene, barium, mercury, chromium, formaldehyde, hydrochloric acid, lead, nitrogen, and sulfur oxides. Lead can accumulate in blood, bones, and body tissues affecting kidneys, organs and nervous systems.
Styrofoam
Burning styrofoam will release 57 chemical byproducts…wow!
Particulate matter
Its just not smoke: Some particles are small enough to enter the lungs can cause numerous health problems. Particles can aggravate respiratory conditions such as asthma and bronchitis, and have been associated with irregular heartbeats and heart attacks. People with heart or lung disease, the elderly, and children are at highest risk from exposure to particles.
Tires
Tire emissions include particulate matter (PM), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur oxides (SOx), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), such as polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), dioxins, furans, hydrogen chloride, benzene, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and metals. Many of these compounds can also be found on the St. Regis Superfund Site…they are chemicals of concern.
Ash
Ash from household waste burning contains lead, arsenic, mercury and chromium. All are heavy metals that have known detrimental affects to the body and environment. Do not contaminate your garden by spreading ashes. Garden vegetables can absorb and accumulate these metals, which can make them dangerous to eat. Children playing in the yard or garden can incidentally ingest soil containing these metals. Even if you don’t spread the ashes, rain can wash the contaminates from the ash into groundwater and surface water, contaminating drinking water and food.
I don’t burn my garbage in a barrel, I burn it in a (pit, outdoor stove, fireplace, on the ground, with a pile of leaves….) so I’m not breaking the law.
Wrong. ANY burning of household waste (garbage) is illegal. It is only commonly referred to as burn barrels since that is the most common container method. That is why the term backyard burning is used to capture all forms of residential household waste burning.
What can I do? What options do I have?
• Turn your burn barrels or properly dispose of it.
• If you are a Leech Lake member we will dispose of it for you and give you 2 recycling bins.
• Larger transfer stations will take the ash and the barrel can be recycled for the metals.
• Start recycling
• You will see how much is really waste and what can be recycled and used again. This will also save on garbage fees.
• Recycling is the number one thing everyone can do to make a change in global warming.
• Make your own bins, use laundry baskets or bags to collect items.
• Recycling centers and drop off points are readily available. (link here to to directly to list of drop off sites/transfer stations by community/county)
• Reuse items
• Turn old/damaged clothes into rags for the house or garage.
• reuse those plastic utensils, they’re still good for the next picnic.
• Repair, sell, or donate used or unwanted items.
• Don’t buy the plastic wrapped cartons or boxes within boxes.
• Do all your fruit and veggies really need separate plastic bags for the checkout counter? Wave off the bags and save some waste.
• If you have no other option recycle as much of the packaging as possible.
• Buy recycled products, they are just as effective and take less resources to make.
• Make a compost. Dispose yard trimmings, food and other organic wastes while making great food for your garden or flower beds!
• Properly Dispose. Have your garbage collected (most are reasonable and also pick up recyclables) or bring it to a transfer site. (link here to to directly to list of drop off sites/transfer stations by community/county)
Links to solid waste sites:
Leech Lake Solid Waste Department
Call 335-4160
Hubbard County
http://co.hubbard.mn.us/PublicWorks/SolidWasteQA.htm
http://co.hubbard.mn.us/PublicWorks/SolidWaste.htm (just solid waste)
Beltrami County
http://www.magnusontrucking.com/
Itasca County
http://www.co.itasca.mn.us/
Cass County
http://www.co.cass.mn.us/esd/solid_waste/recycling.html
Backyard Trash Burning vs. Municipal Incinerator
Burning garbage in your backyard poisons the air you and your family breathe directly! Dioxins found in emissions from backyard burning are a potent human carcinogen and are formed from carbon and chlorine (found in plastic) when burned. Because municipal incinerators have pollution control technology, the hazardous pollutants are captured instead of being emitted. In addition, burning garbage in municipal incinerators has a higher temperature in which household garbage is burned at, allowing for a reduction in the formation and emissions of air pollutants.
What we are actually doing to our health?
Dioxins are potential endocrine disruptors, a chemical which interfere with reproductive, developmental, behavior and affect our immune systems. (Endocrine disruptor chemicals are used to kill cockroaches.) Other health problems when burning your waste result in respiratory illnesses, nervous system, kidney and liver damage. Particle matter, in the form of microscopic airborne soot, can irritate your lungs and eyes and potentially get into your blood stream because of its small particle size. Since dioxins are lipophilic (fat-loving) dioxins can accumulate in your bodies over time (bioaccumulation).
What goes up must come down.
Dioxins released into the air from burning garbage will eventually fall onto the crops that farm animals consume. When we eat the fats in food products from animals raised on those plants we slowly ingest these dioxins.
Dioxins also enter our lakes and rivers when these air borne toxins mix with raindrops falling back onto our Earth’s surface. We then again are exposed to dioxins by the adhesion of these particles to fruit and vegetable plant surfaces which can accumulate in the fatty parts of fish and livestock. (art: raincloud with some nasties in it….)
My neighbor burns garbage, what can I do, its their property?
Burning garbage is illegal regardless of who’s property.
1. You could ask the neighbor to stop and give them some facts. Most do not know the dangers of burning or the chemicals given off.
2. Contact your local authorities or fire warden. Leech Lake Conservation Officers, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Officers, peace officers can all inform the burner to stop all burning, have them remove the barrel, and issue them a warning or ticket for burning garbage. You can also contact our office and we will help you educate and go through the proper channels of having the barrel removed.
Sign up to have your barrel properly disposed of!
Contact the Leech Lake Air Program at 218-335-7429 to schedule a pickup and an exchange of your barrel(s) for two recycling bins.
Collecting a burn barrel from a Leech Lake Reservation resident.
Burn barrels present other dangers as with this location next to a propane tank.
Local burn of a large pile of garbage and platics in a residential area.
Leech Lake Air Monitoring Projects
The Chatfield Air Site was established in June 2002. This site was chose due to tribal land, its remoteness, ground cover, setback from the trees and road, and lack of industry, housing, or other related activities. Finding a site that fit the criteria for all the different parameters of monitoring was a challenge but found with the Chatfield property.
The Leech Lake PM Monitoring Project has been operational since January 2003. The project was started to establish a background level of particulate matter for the Leech Lake Reservation and surrounding area. The monitors collect particulate matter in the 2.5 micron range, matter that can reach deep into our lungs. Samples are taken every 6 days. We have not exceeded the PM standards to date but have had some interesting readings. To date the Leech Lake PM Project is the only long-term particulate monitoring project in the northern tier of Minnesota.
The Leech Lake Air Program has partnered with the Tribal Air Monitoring Support Center (TAMS) in Las Vegas, Nevada to weigh and report on the filters used for monitoring. Data from the project is contributed to a national database for air quality parameters, the Air Quality System. This database provides ambient air monitoring data of criteria and hazardous air pollutants at monitoring sites. The following link can assist you in searching the AQS database:
http://www.epa.gov/ttnairs1/airsaqs/detaildata/requestingaqsdata.htm
Mini-Vols can be used for source specific or general air sampling. Our two previous projects with the Mini-Vols have been with the Big Lake Lake Association and the Advanced Science Students at the Cass Lake-Bena Middle School. The Big Lake project sampled for 1.5 years to collect data from transport onto the reservation from the northwest direction. The Middle School students sampled for 6 months during their school year. This project was to collect data both for background and transport pollution on the Reservation and to introduce young scientists to research and monitoring.
What is PM (Particulate Matter)? Particles released into the air in the form of fine liquid or solid particles such as dust, smoke, mist, fumes or smog.
Fine particle pollution or P.M. 2.5: Refers to particulate matter that is 2.5 microns in size or smaller. On average PM 2.5 is 1/30th the diameter of a human hair. These particles are harmful because they are small enough to get trapped deep inside of your lungs and/or bloodstream causing respiratory or cardio problems including reduced lung function, the development of chronic bronchitis, and even premature death. Fine particles; include all types of combustion activities (motor vehicles, power plants, wood burning etc.) and certain industrial processes.
Coarse particle pollution: is made up of particles that are larger than 2.5 microns but no larger than 10 microns. These particles are harmful because they are known to exacerbate asthma, aggravate lung disease, irritate the eyes, nose, throat and may also increase susceptibility respiratory infections. Coarse particles are made up of sources that include grinding operations, dust from paved or unpaved roads, wind blown dust etc.
http://www.epa.gov/ebtpages/airairpollutantsparticulatematterpm.html
How do these particles affect us? Numerous scientific studies have linked particle pollution exposure to a variety of problems including:
• Irritation of airways, coughing or difficulty breathing
•Decreased lung function
•Aggravated asthma
•Development of chronic bronchitis
•Irregular heart beat
•Heart attacks and premature death in people with heart or lung disease.
•People with heart or lung disease, children and older adults (sensitive populations) are susceptible to particle pollution exposure. However, even if you are healthy, you may experience temporary symptoms from exposure to elevated levels of particle pollution.
http://www.epa.gov/ebtpages/airairpohealtheffects.html
2. Diesel School Bus Retrofit Project
Diesel is the world’s most efficient internal combustion engine returning 20-40% more miles per gallon than comparable gasoline engines. Due to its inherent efficiency, the diesel engine is the predominant power source for many important sectors of the economy. This includes freight transportation, public transportation (school buses), and off road vehicles used in agriculture and construction however...
Diesel is one of the largest sources of fine particle pollution with estimations showing that 1/3 of Minnesota’s air pollution comes from “Mobile Sources" (diesel powered machinery and/or vehicles).
1. Fine particles like those found in diesel exhaust cause 15,000 premature deaths each year.
2. Diesel fueled engines also emit nitrogen oxides that form ground level ozone (smog).
3. The major components that contribute to pollution
from diesel engines include;
• Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
• Carbon Monoxide (CO)
• Nitrogen Oxide (NOx)
• Particulate Matter (PM)
• Formaldehyde
• Benzene
• PAH’s
School buses provide 24 million children with transportation to and from various school activities every year. Air inside buses is 5 times more polluted than the air outside of the bus. This is harmful because:
• Children can spend more than an hour to two hours on a bus each day to and from school.
• Children have a much faster breathing rate than adults, about 2 gallons per minute.
• Diesel emissions have been known to cause lung damage, respiratory problems, and exacerbate asthma and existing allergies.
Steps are being taken and progress made to protect our children and environment to reduce the amount of emissions that are given off by school buses.
1. Better idling practices.
• Idling wastes fuel and money. A typical school bus burns one half gallon of diesel fuel for each hour of idle time.
• It is estimated that if a fleet of 50 buses reduces its idle time by 30 minutes per day, at 1$ per gallon of diesel fuel, the entire fleet would save 2,250$ per school year in fuel costs.
2. Use cleaner burning fuels.
• Bio-Diesel: Using vegetable oils to produce diesel fuel. Can be used at 100% or blended with regular diesel to decrease emission and burn cleaner.
• Ultra low sulfur diesel: has an extremely low sulfur content (15 parts or less per million) and has been required nation wide since the beginning of 2006.
• Emulsified diesel: a blended mixture of diesel, water and other additives used to reduce the emissions of particulate matter and nitrogen oxides (NOx).
3. Retrofitting area school buses with pollution control equipment.
Diesel Oxidation Catalyst (DOC): The most commonly used retrofitting technologies today. They are relatively simple, low cost, can be installed in almost all buses and require very little maintenance. Oxidation Catalysts can be used with regular diesel fuel and typically cost between 5000$ and 10,000$. This method of retrofitting reduces particulate emissions by 20-30%. Reductions will be greater if used with an ultra low sulfur diesel fuel.
Particulate Matter Filter: Provides the most efficient particulate matter reduction. The filter has a more complex technology and is most appropriate for the 1995 and newer buses. The cost for this filter is between 5000$ and 10,000$ and require the use of ultra low sulfur diesel fuel. This method of retrofitting, with the combination of ultra low sulfur diesel fuel, reduces particulate emissions 60% to 90%.
4. Replace the oldest running buses with new ones. (Legacy Fleet)
• About 1/3 of school buses being used today were built before 1990 and are not up to speed with today’s retrofitting pollution control methods.
• Pre-1990 buses can pollute as much as six times more than today’s newer buses. Because they are not equipped with today’s pollution control features they are excellent candidates for replacement.
5. EDUCATE
On August 29th 2006 the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Air Program hosted a one day all day community workshop on reducing diesel emissions and health effects in Cass Lake, Minnesota. Another workshop is being planned for August 2007,
Information shared at the workshop was:
• health issues related to diesel emissions
• diesel engine technologies
• diesel retrofit equipment
• diesel fuel technologies
• regulatory issues
• voluntary grant initiatives
The main objective of our workshop was to discuss the effects of diesel emissions, to dispel misinformation, and to show the community that this is something that we can do together to improve our immediate air quality.
Through our community-based efforts we successfully involved:
• Riggles Bus Company – Cass Lake/Bena School District
• Nortran Bus Company – Deer River School District
• Laporte School District
• Bemidji School District
• Northland Community School – Longville-Remer School District
• Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig Tribal School
• Project Green Fleet
• Leech Lake Air Program
Project Green Fleet of Clean Air Minnesota was extremely exited to hear of such a movement at the grassroots level that they were willing to assist in funding the project. In May of 2007 the Leech Lake Diesel Retrofit Project (Phase I, including 4 school districts) was approved for full funding of all buses from the four participating school districts. This means up to 112 buses may be retrofitted depending on their age, manufacture, and lifespan. Currently the Leech Lake Air Program is in process of Phase 2 of the Diesel Retrofit Project looking for other nearby school districts to join Phase 2 of the project and be potentially funded by Project Green Fleet or other grant initiatives.
3. Wind Feasability Studies
Wind Energy
The Leech Lake Air Program is looking at all ways to decrease air pollution for the Leech Lake Reservation and those who reside here. Alternative energies, such as wind, will decrease our need for coal fired energy and lessen our impact on the environment.
In 2003 the Leech Lake Air Program initiated a 20 meter (64 foot) tower wind energy feasibility study in a consortium with the White Earth and Grand Portage Reservations and the Department of Energy. This study was conducted at the Chatfield Air Site near Boy River to see if wind energy can be captured and utilized for energy usage here at Leech Lake. At the end of the 1.5 year study it was deemed to properly analyze Leech Lake's wind resources that further study was needed.
In August of 2006 a 50 meter (164 foot) tower was installed at Northern Lights Casino. This tower will allow Leech Lake Air Quality Staff to better analyze the availability of wind energy. Instruments are located at 50, 40, and 30 meters to measure wind speeds and directions. This data is then fed to a data logger in which the data is downloaded once a month and sent to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory for analysis. The tower will be unassembled August 2007.
At the end of the 50 meter project, data from both studies will be analyzed by the national Renewable Energy Laboratory and Seventh Generation Energy Systems. This information will indicate if we will continue onto the next steps of obtaining alternative energy in the form of wind. If wind energy is a viable option we will look into obtaining funding to install a wind turbine to supplement the energy consumption for the Northern Lights Casino in Walker, Minnesota. Many of the factors determining the size of the wind turbine will be determined by the wind resource, energy load, and economic factors.
On average, one typical wind turbine can supply electricity needs to 300-500 homes. Over 4,600 megawatts of wind generating capacity is operating in the United States as of Fall 2006, providing enough energy to power a million homes. See maps of wind energy where you live here.
• The cost of producing electricity from wind energy has decreased dramatically from 80 cents per kilowatt hour in 1980 to 4-6 cents today
• Marginal wind 5 meters per second = 150 watts per meter squared
• Outstanding wind 10 meters per second = 1200 watts per meter squared
• Solar power on average 200-300 watts power meter squared
26 States currently have commercial wind energy systems. Over 1,700 mega watts have been installed since 2001. Minnesota, as of 2000, has a potential capacity of 294,700 mega watts. Tribes across the country are investing in wind energy. To see a map of the wind projects in Indian Country go to
www.eere.energy.gov/tribalenergy/guide/wind_energy_resources.html
Wind energy's most important environmental benefit is its lack of emissions of both air pollutants and greenhouse gases. A 10,000 megawatt wind tower generation power would eliminate from the atmosphere the following pollutants generated by fossil fuels:
• 39,480,061,687 lbs of carbon dioxide
• 163,520,000 lbs of acid rain causing sulfur dioxide
• 60,480,000 lbs of smog causing nitrous oxides
• 760 lbs of mercury that pollute our water bodies
• 30,016,000,000 lbs of coal or a 1,000 mile long train
• 4,500,000 barrels of oil per year
LINKS
To see other alternative sources of energy, including wind visit http://www.nrel.gov/applying_technologies/
Intertribal Council on Utility Policy for great Tribal wind information http://www.intertribalcoup.org/
National Renewable Energy Laboratory does a lot of wind research and is where Leech Lake has loaned out the 20m and 50m towers http://www.nrel.gov/wind/
Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance
More info on wind energy, how you can buy it, and the benefits http://www.pca.state.mn.us/oea/energy/greenpower.cfm
Buy Wind Energy through your local utility
Beltrami Electric
http://www.beltramielectric.com/Infinity_Wind_Energy.htm
Lake Country Power
http://www.lakecountrypower.coop/wind.shtml
Ottertail Power
http://www.otpco.com/ProductsServices/TailWinds.asp
5. Dioxin Monitoring Projects
Dioxin is a potent human carcinogen chemical that is harmful to everyone. It acts as an endocrine disrupter that can cause reproductive, developmental and immunological problems in humans and animals.
The Leech Lake Air Program has had three different monitoring projects, the 48-hour Project, Enhanced Project, and the 2- Week Project. All projects sampled dioxins on the St. Regis Superfund Site (see Superfund Site section of this website for more information). Two samplers are collocated on the St Regis Site and one for background level purposes is sited at the Chatfield Air Site. Three HiVol PUF samplers are used for each of the three projects as seen below.
The 48-hour Dioxin Project capture samples for 48 hours once a month. The project was put together to gather baseline sampling before/during/after Site soil removal actions. This project has recently gone through some simple data analyses that are showing very interesting numbers requiring more intensive analysis.
The Enhanced Dioxin Monitoring Project took place while soil was being removed from the St Regis Superfund Site. This project monitored 24/7 during the soil removal process to study if there were increased exposure to contaminated soils and dioxin contamination. The project was operational Summer 2004 and October 2005.
The 2-Week or Saturation Study was done to observe dioxin levels in a sample after two continuous weeks of sampling, hence saturating the sample. This project was done to gather a saturated sample to do more intensive analysis on.
6. Mercury Monitoring
Mercury is anelement used in many industrial processes and commercial products. It is a toxic substance that can cause serious harm to human health and at high doses can be fatal. The majority of mercury emissions are produced by fossil fuel combustion and solid waste incineration. These emissions are then transported in the atmosphere and are deposited on the land and waters. It is also the only metal that is liquid at room temperatures.
The Leech Lake Mercury Wet Deposition Sampling Project was established in June of 2003. The goal of sampling for mercury (Hg) is to establish a trend analysis and collect data for a comprehensive Hg risk analysis. We sample for both total Hg and Methyl Hg. Samples are retrieved and set every Tuesday. The monitor is on loan from the University of Minnesota Duluth who also analyzes the samples from Leech Lake.
http://www.epa.gov/ebtpages/airairpollutantsmercury.html
The Meteorological Station was installed July 2002. This station collects ambient temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure, wind speed, and wind direction. In the future we hope to add solar radiation and soil moisture instruments for fire data purposes. We capture the data for historical purposes. One use of the data is in models to track pollution. Data is downloaded once a month.
Contact Us
(218) 335-7400 DRM
| Name | Title | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| Brown, Levi | Environmental Director | 335-7417 |
| Toft, Brandy | Air Quality Specialist | 335-7429 |
| Benoit, Ben | Air Quality Technician / UST | (218) 335-7441 |
Division of Resource Management
15756 State 371 NW