Contacts:
Ron Kalb, DRI Director of Public Information ron.kalb@dri.edu
(702) 862-5420 (office), (702) 498-8916 (cell)
Heather Emmons, 775-673-7313, heather.emmons@dri.edu
All DRI News Releases available at: http://news.dri.edu/
February 16-17, 2005
DRI Media Advisory: Assessing technology for measuring road dust
Reporters and Editors Please Note:
WHO: DRI, UC Riverside and Clark County Department of Air Quality and Environmental Management.
WHAT: Technology assessment of DRI's TRAKER and UCR's SCAMPER.
WHERE: Starting at the Government Center at 500 Grand Central Parkway, Las Vegas.
WHEN: Wed., Feb. 16 and Thurs. Feb. 17 (weather permitting).
TIMES: Vehicles leave 500 Grand Cental Parkway at 9 a.m. both days, returning around 2:30 p.m.
HOW: Vehicles will follow a 5.5-hour closed loop through Las Vegas.
WHY: To evaluate the effectiveness of TRAKER's and SCAMPER's measurement of road dust.
VISUALS:
Vans equipped with high-tech measurement instruments. Ride-along
or follow-along opportunities.
Spokespersons.
BACKGROUND:
Dust emissions originating from motor vehicle travel on paved and unpaved
roads in many areas of the west constitute a significant fraction of the
airborne particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters less than 10
microns—commonly called PM10.
The Clark County Department of Air Quality and Environmental Management is assessing technology to measure PM10 dust emissions over a series of contiguous paved roads in the Las Vegas Valley that constitute a closed loop. This assessment is aimed at evaluating through hands-on experience DRI’s TRAKER vehicle-based road dust emission measurement method and that of SCAMPER, developed by the University of California, Riverside.
A nonprofit, statewide division of the University and Community College System of Nevada, DRI pursues a full-time program of basic and applied environmental research on a local, national, and international scale. Nearly 500 full- and part-time scientists, technicians, and support staff conduct some 150 research projects at DRI annually. DRI generates $45 million in total revenue consisting predominately of competitively won research contracts and grants. The State of Nevada provides critical funding in support of DRI's administration, operations and maintenance, through the University and Community College System of Nevada budget. While DRI’s portion of the UCCSN budget is less than 1 percent, the institute leverages these funds to enhance its competitiveness.