After completion of this course, learners will be able to explain the fundamental aspects of Emissions Inventories. This course is comprised of 4 modules and an exam. The modules are as follows:
Module 1: What is an Emissions Inventory?
Upon completion of this module, learners will be able to explain the basic aspects of an air emissions inventory, including:
Defining an air emissions inventory
Identifying the elements that constitute an emissions inventory
Describing the types of pollutants found in inventories
Describing how pollutants are represented in inventories
Describing the sources found in inventories
Explaining the geographic components of an emissions inventory
Explaining the temporal components of an emissions inventory
Explaining the emissions components of an emissions inventory
Module 2: Purposes and Types of Emissions Inventories
After completion of this module, learners will be able to explain the purposes and types of air emissions inventories, including:
Explaining the purpose of emissions inventories
Describing how different types of emissions inventories can meet different needs
Describing the three national emissions inventories that the EPA develops
Explaining how the three national emissions inventories differ
Explaining the key uses of emissions inventories
Module 3: Developing Air Emissions Inventories
After completion of this module, learners will be able to describe the approaches, methods and tools/data used for building emissions inventories, including:
Explaining how existing inventories and other resources contribute to emissions inventory development
Identifying the key considerations in developing a workplan for emissions inventory building
Defining activity data
Identifying examples of activity data
Describing general approaches for data collection for emissions inventory development
Describing data collection processes used for point sources
Describing data collection processes used for nonpoint sources
Identifying examples of data collected for other types of sources (mobile, fires and biogenic)
Identifying the methods used for estimating emissions
Describing the considerations for choosing a method for estimating emissions
Explaining why documentation is important when developing an emissions inventory
Explaining the types of information included in documenting an emissions inventory
Explaining how quality assurance relates to emissions inventories
Describing some basic aspects of a quality assurance program
Module 4: National Emissions Inventories
After completion of this module, learners will be able to explain the key aspects of the National Emissions Inventory (NEI), including:
Defining the National Emissions Inventory
Explaining the general concepts of the National Emissions Inventory
Explaining the purposes and key goals of the NEI
Explaining the uses of the NEI
Defining the key inventory elements provided by the NEI
Describing each of the key inventory elements as they pertain to the NEI
Identifying the three primary methods used to categorize emissions sources in the NEI
Describing how each of the three methods organize emissions source data within the NEI
Describing generally how the NEI is created
Explaining the process and timeline for NEI development