Ambient air measurements in the vicinity of natural gas production plants
In October, nationwide air pollution measurements were started in Lower Saxony. With these measurements, the natural gas industry is recording possible immissions in the vicinity of its production sites.
On behalf of the German Federal Association of Natural Gas, Oil and Geoenergy e.V. (BVEG) 70 measuring points were installed at residential areas with a short distance to a natural gas production plant.
Müller-BBM’s subsidiary in Gelsenkirchen, an accredited and independent engineering office with the appropriate expertise and laboratory capacity, has been commissioned with the conception and execution of the measuring campaign. Passive collectors are used to measure the concentration of aromatic hydrocarbons (BTEX) in the outside air. The components of the mentioned substance group BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene and xylenes) can be considered as lead substances for all sites within the scope of natural gas production, irrespective of the further technical properties of the respective plants. After completion of the one-year measurement phase and evaluation of the analyses, a final report will be prepared. The content of this report will be published.
