The Next Frontier of Air Monitoring
October 23, 2025
By: Dr. Antonios Tasoglou
Flexible, real-time air monitoring transforms industrial operations compliance from a checkbox into a competitive advantage.
Emissions don’t wait. And while traditional air monitoring can take days or even weeks to deliver results, small emission events can quickly grow in impact.
This is a chance to get ahead—taking proactive steps to identify and address issues before they escalate. Expectations from regulators, investors, and communities are higher than ever, and this new challenge demands new thinking.
The most forward-looking companies aren’t satisfied with checking a box. They’re turning to real-time monitoring through emerging technologies that keep them in control of their emissions 24/7.
Let’s break down what your options for real-time air monitoring are and how other leading companies use them.
A Flexible Toolkit for Any Challenge
Traditional methods like LDAR and Method 21 are still the baseline for regulatory compliance, but our clients are moving toward a future proof program, mixing in emerging technologies like these based on their needs:
At the fence line, open-path FTIR tracks compounds like benzene, HCN, and H₂S in real time, keeping operators compliant in states like Colorado and California. When Phillips 66 deployed the system, it gave regulators and nearby communities confidence that emissions were continuously tracked.
Across neighborhoods and cities, sensor networks scale from low-cost units to nano-GC systems to EPA-certified FEM monitors. Denver’s and Milwaukee’s Love My Air program used a city-wide network of low-cost sensors to give residents transparency and real-time ownership of their air quality.
For urgent investigations, mobile labs bring advanced PTR mass spectrometry to the field, turning raw measurements into defensible results in days instead of weeks. In one case, a benzene hotspot was pinpointed within hours, allowing operators to act fast and protect compliance.
Where it’s hard to get people, drones are the tool for the job, like over landfills, coal mines, and oil and gas fields. Outfitted with TDL sensors, anemometers, and OGI cameras, they reveal what ground crews often miss. This drone-based methane survey, for example, uncovered hidden leaks that improved both compliance and safety.
When the gold standard is required, Summa canisters and traditional lab analysis step in. In partnership with Enthalpy Analytical, these methods complement real-time tools with defensible results regulators trust. For HON MACT compliance, EPA Method 327 relies on Summa canisters to capture 24-hour samples that deliver reliable, regulator-ready data.
Turn Compliance Into Confidence
Compliance used to be the goal. Now it’s just the baseline. Real-time monitoring elevates air quality from a box to check into a strategic lever for community trust, operational efficiency, and market leadership.
As Antonios Tasoglou, Emerging Technology Manager at Montrose, explains:
“The real power of emerging technologies lies in flexibility. By combining different tools, we can tailor monitoring strategies to any facility, turning data into action faster and helping the entire industry raise the bar.”
Looking Ahead
The future of air monitoring is integrated. Real-time insights. Predictive analytics. Compliance you can feel confident in. Decisions that are faster.
These emerging technologies tools aren’t just solving today’s problems. They’re defining tomorrow’s environmental standards.
Want to move beyond checkbox compliance? Take an integrated approach to air quality with Montrose.
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Antonios Tasoglou, PhD
Emerging Technologies Manager
Dr. Antonios Tasoglou is the Emerging Technology Manager for Montrose Air Quality Services. Dr. Tasoglou has 14 years of experience in air quality testing, using stationary and mobile platforms. His technical background is focused on the measurements of air toxics and airborne particulate matter using low-cost sensor, gas analyzers and real time mass spectrometers.
