PM-10 and PM-2.5 are measured using the combination of Method 201A and Method 202.  Filterable PM-10 and/or filterable PM-2.5 is/are measured using Method 201A, and condensable particulate matter is measured using Method 202.  In the past version of Method 201A, sampling was not possible in high temperature stacks because of limitations with the sampling equipment; the threads of the cyclone components could gall or seize, preventing recovery of the sample and rendering the cyclone unusable for future testing.  The solution in the past was to test as “worst-case” by using NJATM1 to measure total filterable particulate (in place of Method 201A), in conjunction with Method 202 for condensable particulate matter.

The revised Method 201A (effective January 1, 2011) includes alternate equipment (cyclones with break-away bolts instead of screw-together) for testing in high-temperature stacks (see §8.6.1 of the method.)  BTS has been in a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation in regards to this topic.  Testers tell us that vendors do not have the equipment…vendors tell us that they have not made the equipment because no one is ordering it.  As a result, effective with all pending and future protocols unless otherwise approved, BTS will require the use of Method 201A in high temperature stacks, using the equipment specified in §8.6.1 of the method.  It is the facility’s responsibility to ensure that the Tester they have hired has the necessary sampling equipment to perform the method.