Environmental Gas Standards 

MESA Specialty Gases & Equipment provides a number of Environmental Gas standards used to ensure environmental safety, compliance and meet regulatory requirements.  MESA Specialty Gases & Equipment produces environmental gases to meet the unique needs in the following areas:

	Standards for CEM and Stack Gas Monitoring
	Automotive Exhaust Emission Standards

	Ambient Air Monitoring Standards
	Low Level NO Mixtures
	EPA Protocol Gases

The following list indicates the most common components used in our mixtures.  If you do not see the component you require, please contact us to check availability:

	AMMONIA
	CARBON DIOXIDE
	HYDROGEN SULFIDE
	METHANE
	NITRIC OXIDE
	OXYGEN
	PROPANE
	SULFUR DIOXIDE
	VARIOUS MERCAPTANS

About the application these gases are used for:

Pollution

Air pollution is the presence of any chemical, physical (e.g. particulate matter), or biological agent that modifies the natural characteristics of the atmosphere. The atmosphere is a complex, dynamic natural gaseous system that is essential to support life on planet earth.

Enforced air quality standards, like the Clean Air Act in the United States, have reduced the presence of some pollutants. While major stationary sources are often identified with air pollution, the greatest source of emissions are actually mobile sources, primarily cars. There are many available air pollution control technologies and urban planning strategies available to reduce air pollution; however, worldwide costs of addressing the issue are high.  

Sources

 Air pollutants are classified as either directly released or formed by subsequent chemical reactions. A direct release air pollutant is one that is emitted directly from a given source, such as the carbon monoxide or sulfur dioxide, all of which are byproducts of combustion; whereas, a subsequent air pollutant is formed in the atmosphere through chemical reactions involving direct release pollutants. The formation of ozone in photochemical smog is the most important example of a subsequent air pollutant.

•  Anthropogenic sources (human activity) related to burning different kinds of fuel.
•  Combustion-fired power plants.
• Controlled burn practices used in agriculture and forestry management
• Motor vehicles generating air pollution emissions.
• Marine vessels, such as container ships or cruise ships, and related port air emissions
• Burning fossil fuels
• Burning wood, fireplaces, stoves, furnaces and incinerators
• Other anthropogenic sources
• Oil refining, power plant operation and industrial activity in general.
• Chemicals, dust and crop waste burning in farming,
• Fumes from paint, varnish, aerosol sprays and other solvents.
• Waste deposition in landfills, which generate methane
• Natural Sources
• Dust from natural sources, usually large areas of land with little or no vegetation.
• Methane, emitted by the digestion of food by animals, for example cattle.
• Pine trees, which emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
• Radon gas from radioactive decay within the Earth's crust.
• Smoke and carbon monoxide from wildfires.
• Volcanic activity, which produce sulfur, chlorine, and ash particulates.

In the US and Around the World

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or sometimes USEPA) is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and with safeguarding the natural environment: air, water, and land. The EPA began operation on December 2, 1970, when it was established by President Richard Nixon. It is led by its Administrator, who is appointed by the President of the United States. The EPA is not a Cabinet agency, but the Administrator is normally given cabinet rank. The current Administrator (as of 2006) is Stephen L. Johnson.

In the 1960s, 70s, and 90s, the United States Congress enacted a series of Clean Air Acts which significantly strengthened regulation of air pollution. Individual U.S. states, some European nations and eventually the European Union followed these initiatives. The Clean Air Act sets numerical limits on the concentrations of a basic group of air pollutants and provides reporting and enforcement mechanisms.