Some Information About Method 9 Training

By Marla Mills


The method 9 training is a referential method that quantifies all visible emissions. When stationary sources discharge visible emissions in the environment they do so in a plume shape. This program is designed to estimate the opacity of the plume by professional observers. This method involves procedures that should be used in order to find the best opacity estimates. This kind of training is provided at institutions known as smoke schools.

For you to pass the training and be a professional there are some qualifications that you must pass. One of them is evaluating the opacity of visible emissions on a scale of 0 to 100%. This should be followed by recording the information in the correct format into the Visible Emissions Observation form. You should also be able to evaluate 25% of white smoke and black smoke to the nearest 5%.

A concept by Maximillian Ringelman was the reason a system of estimating smoke opacity was brought up. Ringelman observed and noticed that the level of darkness of a particular smoke is the reason why there was poor combustion efficiency. He came up with a chart that could be used to find out how dark the smoke was. This chart had a white background and four different black grids.

Many decades after that the system was being used by many large municipalities to estimate the amount of darkness present in the plumes as a way of curbing the nuisance. This consequently led to two important adjustments on the Ringelman charts. The first one was the introduction of white smoke with equivalent opacity as the main reason for this. Another is the introduction of the opacity meter which made it useless to have the Ringelman card.

Another procedure that has to be followed is recording the field findings. The observer should record the plant name, the emission location, the type of facility and a sketch of the observers position with relation to the emissions. These are usually recorded on a field data sheet at the time that the opacity readings have initiated and when they have been completed.

There are certain procedures that are used in determining the darkness in plumes. For one, the observer should put down the name of the plant used, the type of facility and the emission location. These records are usually recorded on a field data sheet before the observations start and after they have been completed.

When the observer is observing the smoke there are certain procedures they should also handle. The first one is that the observer should stand at a length sufficient enough to produce a very clear sight of the emissions. The sun should be oriented at a 140 degree sector at the back of the professional observer.

For method 9 training there are many smoke schools that will ensure you get only the best. Do not be lazy when it comes to finding these schools. Become the best you can be.




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