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Tyndall forms new Air Quality Board The air at Tyndall Air Force Base is clean and members of a newly created Air Quality Board want to keep it that way. "This board was created as strictly a pro-active approach to characterize emissions and develop innovative technological approaches to air quality issues impacting Tyndall," said Billy Bright, a physical scientist in the 325th Civil Engineer Squadron's environmental engineering flight. "In the past, nothing was established for an air quality program. We thought the most advantageous route_where all of the interests on Tyndall would be recognized and where people would have a voice_was the creation of this board." Bright and scientists from the Armstrong Laboratory Environics Directorate were compelled to form the Air Quality Board after the Environmental Protection Agency proposed stricter guidelines in November 1996. The Armstrong Laboratory is a research facility at Tyndall that solves environmental problems for the Air Force. "The EPA has put out tighter regulations on ozone and particulate matter," said Ray Wells, an atmospheric chemist at Armstrong Labs. "These regulations are what drive the board." Suspended matter in the air, particulates are a concern due to their adverse impact on the human respiratory system. Ozone is a major component of smog, formed when nitrogen oxide and hydrocarbons combine in the presence of sunlight. Unlike stratospheric ozone, which filters ultraviolet rays from the sun, ozone generated in the lower levels of the atmosphere is a lung irritant and can cause serious health problems. At Tyndall, the everyday mission affects air quality, said Bright, who is chairman of the board. "We are currently in an attainment zone, which means Tyndall is meeting air quality standards for Bay County," he explained. "The board plans to meet with private industry and we'd like to establish a partnership with the EPA and Florida Department of Environmental Protection to make it even better." The goal of the Air Quality Board is to identify, develop, evaluate and implement technologies to reduce emissions on Tyndall. The board is the only one of its kind in the Air Education and Training Command, Bright said. The 15 people on the board represent the 325th Maintenance Squadron, 325th Supply Squadron, the 325th Logistics Group and other areas where air quality compliance is an issue. The board will work with these organizations to measure F-15 emissions and study effects of the aircraft painting process. It was just Tyndall's luck that the Armstrong Laboratory is nearby_where scientists spend their days studying air quality problems and solutions. "It's a win-win situation for Tyndall and Armstrong Labs," Bright said. "We can study air quality and they can put their research to work." Joe Wander, a developer of air pollution control technologies at Armstrong Labs, agrees. "Billy Bright has mobilized talent in a variety of areas to judge the best way to handle environmental dollars spent here. This board is just a real good idea." Leslie Filson is a public affairs officer for the 3525th Fighter Wing at Tyndall Air Force Base. |