Smoke School, Opacity Training Schedule, Visible Emission Observer Certification, AeroMet, EPA Method 9, VEO, Reading, Smokeschool

Common Questions
about Smoke School

WHAT IS SMOKE SCHOOL?
Smoke school is the commonly used name for training required by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and State and Local Regulatory Agencies to conduct valid visible emissions observations of stationary emissions sources. Smoke school is more formally referred to as "Opacity Certification", "Method 9 Training", or "Visible Emissions Training". The purpose of smoke school is to educate and train company personnel on the principles of correctly evaluating the opacity of emissions. Smoke school also requires testing to verify the ability of personnel to accurately read visible emissions in accordance with USEPA standards. Smoke school generally consists of two phases - a lecture session and a field certification event. The lecture session generally is required only once (depending on your state´s particular regulations) whereas the field certification process is required every six months.

Who Needs Smoke School?
If a business or industrial facility has an air permit issued by their governing regulatory agency and if they have a source that has the potential to produce visible emissions, that source will usually have an opacity limit. Most air permits will therefore require that a facility demonstrate compliance with that standard by having a qualified individual perform either Method 9 or Method 22 observations. Should your facility desire to have one or more personnel qualified to fulfill this requirement, AeroMet is there to provide proper training and certification for both of these methods. Businesses will typically retain at least one individual certified as a visible emissions reader to ensure that opacity limits are not exceeded. Excess emissions are a violation of permit conditions and can result in noncompliance penalties of up to $10,000 per day. Most companies decide it is much more cost effective to be proactive and have certified staff on hand rather than deal with the expensive and counterproductive results of alleged noncompliance.

What Types of Sources Require Visible Emissions Observations?
A good question and there´s simply not enough room to list all of them here. However, some of the more common sources include Mining and Aggregate Processing Equipment (crushers, conveyors, bins and screens), Smoke Stacks or Exhaust Vents from most industrial/manufacturing processes, and Material Transfer Points such as loading/unloading of rail cars. The only sure way to determine if you are required to have visible emissions observations at your facility is to review your specific air permit conditions, contact your local regulatory agency, or call us for an evaluation.

Which States Does AeroMet Currently Operate In?
Currently, AeroMet has public smoke school sessions in Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Ohio, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Indiana, Kentucky and New Mexico. AeroMet conducts private smoke schools in nearly all states. We are constantly expanding our coverage area. If you would like to recommend a public smoke school or request a private smoke school, please give us a call. To view our current public smoke school schedule, please click on the Schedule link on the right.