The U. S. EPA/NOAA Partnership: Training on the use of Atmospheric Dispersion/Simulation Techniques and Models for Regulatory Decision-Making

Formal classroom courses and workshops, self-instructional workbooks and similar materials, personal computer (PC) tutorials on models, Internet (on-line) instructional modules, and live television broadcasts - over the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Air Pollution Distance Learning Network (APDLN) - of workshops, courses and briefings on progress in modeling and its applications. These are among the tools, methods and “vehicles” used over the past 40+ years to provide training and education on the use of atmospheric dispersion/simulation techniques and models for both air pollution control agency personnel and other public and private sector professionals who are developing and implementing air pollution control strategies and making other regulatory model-based decisions. This paper provides a short history of the introduction of many of these tools, methods and vehicles and their updates that incorporate the improving science and technology, as well as expanded applications, so necessary for meeting the demands for credible air quality estimates. The context is the air pollution training program of the EPA and its predecessor organizations, together with support and assignment of staff, including the author, to this program from the U. S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and its predecessor organizations, beginning with the U. S. Weather Bureau Research Station at the R. A. Taft Sanitary Engineering Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.