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10. EPA CALIBRATION PROTOCOL
10.1. CALIBRATION REQUIREMENTS
If the T300 is to be used for EPA SLAMS monitoring, it must be calibrated in
accordance with the instructions in this section.
The USEPA strongly recommends that you obtain a copy of the publication Quality
Assurance Handbook for Air Pollution Measurement Systems Volume 2: Part 1, Ambient
(abbreviated, Q.A. Handbook Volume II). This manual can be purchased from:
USEPA Order Number: EPA454R98004; or NTIS Order Number: PB99 129876.
National Technical Information Service (phone 800-553-6847) or Center for
Environmental Research Information or the U.S. Government Printing Office at
http://www.gpo.gov. The Handbook can also b
e
located on line by searching for the
title at http://www.epa.gov.
Special attent
ion should be paid to Section 2.6 of that which covers CO analyzers of
this type. Specific regulations regarding the use and operation of ambient CO
analyzers can be found in Reference 1 at the end of this Section.
A bibliography and references relating to CO monitoring are listed in Section 10.6.
10.1.1. CALIBRATION OF EQUIPMENT - GENERAL GUIDELINES
In general, calibration is the process of adjusting the gain and offset of the T300 against
some recognized standard. In this section the term dynamic calibration
is used to
express a multipoint check against known standards and involves introducing gas
samples of known concentration into the instrument in order to adjust the instrument to a
predetermined sensitivity and to produce a calibration relationship.
This relationship is derived from the instrumental response to successive samples of
different known concentrations. As a minimum, three reference points and a zero point
are recommended to define this relationship.
All monitoring instrument systems are subject to some drift and variation in internal
parameters and cannot be expected to maintain accurate calibration over long periods of
time. Therefore, it is necessary to dynamically check the calibration relationship on a
predetermined schedule. Zero and span checks
must be used to document that the data
remains within control limits. These checks are also used in data reduction and
validation.
Calibration can be done by either diluting high concentration CO standards with zero air
or using individual tanks of known concentration. Details of documentation, forms and
procedures should be maintained with each analyzer and also in a central backup file as
described in Section 2.6.2 of the Quality Assurance Handbook.
06864B DCN6314