Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 66.05
Liaison Yumiko Jakobcic
Submission Date Feb. 27, 2015
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Grand Valley State University
OP-2: Outdoor Air Quality

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.50 / 1.00 Yumiko Jakobcic
Campus Sustainability Coordinator
Office of Sustainability Practices
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have policies and/or guidelines in place to improve outdoor air quality and minimize air pollutant emissions from mobile sources?:
No

A brief description of the policies and/or guidelines to improve outdoor air quality and minimize air pollutant emissions from mobile sources:
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Has the institution completed an inventory of significant air emissions from stationary sources on campus?:
Yes

A brief description of the methodology(ies) the institution used to complete its air emissions inventory:

Conducted by FTCH. A conservative estimate of potential VOC emissions for the laboratories assumed the entire portion of chemicals used is emitted as VOC. For the Calder Art Center, VOC emissions were conservatively estimated by assuming a generic VOC content of 7.36 pounds per gallon for all materials, except spray cans. VOC emissions attributable to the use of spray cans of paints, adhesives, and fixatives were estimated by assuming the entire contents of the cans were VOC. To calculate potential emissions from the small gas-fired boilers and hot water heaters, total potential gas usage was combined and emissions estimated using USEPA emission factors for SCC 1-02-006-03. Potential emissions for emergency generators were based upon a maximum of 500 operating hours per year for these emergency units.


Weight of the following categories of air emissions from stationary sources::
Weight of Emissions
Nitrogen oxides (NOx) 6.08 Tons
Sulfur oxides (SOx) 0.05 Tons
Carbon monoxide (CO) 4.80 Tons
Particulate matter (PM) 0.89 Tons
Ozone (O3) ---
Lead (Pb) 0 Tons
Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) ---
Ozone-depleting compounds (ODCs) ---
Other standard categories of air emissions identified in permits and/or regulations 0.32 Tons

A brief description of the institution’s initiatives to minimize air pollutant emissions from stationary sources, including efforts made during the previous three years:

The University has an outside party conduct a combustion analysis every year on the equipment to ensure that the equipment is operating properly and in the most efficient manner. Boiler tubes are scrubbed every two years to allow the best heat transfer and promote a cleaner and more efficient burn. Natural gas is the primary fuel and only a minimum of two days per year is used to burn fuel oil. And even then the fuel oil is a #2 grade and is an ultra-low sulphor content.


The website URL where information about the institution’s outdoor air quality policies, guidelines or inventory is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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