Air Quality Engineers

The Clean Air Act requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set national air quality standards for six common air pollutants: ground-level ozone, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and lead. The EPA's federal air quality regulations cover everything from car emissions to the greenhouse effect and the weight law behind them. Few industries will not be touched somehow by this legislation, and few will not require the services of an air quality engineer in the years to come.

Air quality engineers monitor targeted industries or sources to determine whether they operate within acceptable emissions levels. These engineers suggest changes in the setup of specific companies, or even whole industries, to lessen their impact on the atmosphere. This field will have ample opportunity to combine interests precisely because it is a relatively new field with job paths that need to be better established. An air quality engineer with some background in meteorology, for example, might track the spread of airborne pollutants through various weather systems using computer modeling techniques. Another air quality engineer might research indoor air pollution, discovering causes for the "sick building syndrome" and creating new architectural standards and building codes for safe ventilation and construction materials.

Air quality engineers work for the government, in private industry, as consultants, and in research and development. Government employees monitor a region, cite infractions, and enforce government regulations. These workers may be called to give testimony in cases against non-compliant companies. They must deal with public concerns and opinions and are regulated by government bureaucracy and regulations.

Air quality engineers in private industry work within an industry or a large company to ensure that air quality regulations are being met. They might develop instrumentation to monitor emissions continuously, for example, and use the data to formulate control methods. They may interact with federal regulators or work independently. Engineers working in private industries might also be involved in green manufacturing. This means figuring out the most environmentally sound way to produce products—from raw material to disposal stages—while maintaining or, if possible, increasing the company's profits.

Engineers who work alone as consultants or for consulting firms do many of the same things as engineers in private industry, for smaller companies that do not need a full-time engineer but still need help meeting federal requirements. They, too, might suggest changes to be implemented by a company to reduce air pollution. Some consultants specialize in certain areas of pollution control. Many private consultants sell, install, and run a particular control system. The job requires some salesmanship and the motivation to maintain a variable clientele.

Finally, engineers committed to research and development may work in public or private research institutions and academic environments. They may tackle significant problems that affect any number of industries and improve air quality standards by discovering new contaminants that need regulation.