API DR 76:1999

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report presents the results of a pilot study sponsored by the American Petroleum Institute (API) to evaluate the use of optical remote sensing (ORS) technology for determining emission factors as well as the dispersion of the emissions at an uncontrolled retail gasoline outlet (RGO). Conventional methods of determining the emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from RGOs are based on either (a) the use of general parameters to calculate emissions using standard equations or (b) summing the contributions emitted from specific sources. ORS techniques may be able to provide a direct method of determining the total emissions from an RGO under varied conditions and to provide this information with little interference with the operation of the RGO.