Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 83.80
Liaison Breeana Sylvas
Submission Date March 1, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of California, Merced
OP-2: Outdoor Air Quality

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Mal Donohue
Director
Environmental Heath & Safety
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1 

Does the institution have policies and/or guidelines in place to improve outdoor air quality and minimize air pollutant emissions from mobile sources on campus?:
Yes

None
A brief description of the policies and/or guidelines to improve outdoor air quality and minimize air pollutant emissions from mobile sources:
Permitted air emissions sources at the UC Merced are managed and maintained to manufacturer’s operating specifications; permitted emissions sources are exhaust gas emissions tested in accordance with permit conditions to demonstrate emissions performance. Emissions stacks are monitored for visual emissions to ensure there are no excess emissions, especially during start up, shut down or malfunction.

Part 2 

Has the institution completed an inventory of significant air emissions from stationary campus sources or else verified that no such emissions are produced?:
Yes

Weight of the following categories of air emissions from stationary sources::
Weight of Emissions
Nitrogen oxides (NOx) 0.22 Tons
Sulfur oxides (SOx) ---
Carbon monoxide (CO) 0.25 Tons
Particulate matter (PM) ---
Ozone (O3) ---
Lead (Pb) ---
Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) ---
Ozone-depleting compounds (ODCs) ---
Other standard categories of air emissions identified in permits and/or regulations ---

None
A brief description of the methodology(ies) the institution used to complete its air emissions inventory:
NOx and CO gas emissions were calculated using stack testing measured, average gas concentrations in exhaust emissions from the permitted, stationary campus sources and multiplying the average gas concentrations times the average flow rate measured for the exhaust gasses in order to derive the mass rate for each exhaust gas (i.e., NOx and CO); the mass rate was then multiplied by the time that the emissions equipment ran during the year in order to calculate the total gas emissions mass (tons). Conc. (mg/m^3) * Flow Rate (m^3/min) *Run Time (min) = Mass of Gas (mg) * 1 g/1000 mg * 1 lb/453.59 g * 1 ton/2,000 lbs = Mass of Pollutant (tons) emitted per year

Optional Fields

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
---

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Note: UC Merced is located in an area with relatively high air pollution and thus the best control technology is required in all equipment. Fuel usage is submitted to local air district that estimate emissions for the San Joaquin Valley as a whole.

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.