Particulate matter concentrations originating from industrial and urban sources: Validation of atmospheric dispersion modeling results

Özet

This study presents the analysis of the emission, transport, dispersion, and concentration of particulatematter emitted from a large industrial complex dedicated to the manufacture of cement in the town ofMalagueno, province of C ~ ordoba (Argentina), using the USEPA's (Environmental Protection Agency) AERMOD model. The model was applied for 224 industrial and background emission sources (8 stacks, 3limestone quarries, 13 material storage piles, 18 agricultural fields and 182 paved and unpaved segmentroads). The application of the model was validated with Total Suspended Particulate matter (TSP)measured at two monitoring sites, where samples were collected for 62 consecutive days in winter. Themaximum TSP values obtained at both monitoring sites (748 and 1100 mg m3) were well above thesuggested WHO guidelines. The results obtained showed the impact of this industrial activity on localparticulate matter concentrations, from which unpaved industrial roads and stockpiles were the mostinfluential emission sources, directly affecting two of the closest neighborhoods in the area. Futurestudies will include the accumulation of heavy metals and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in TSPsamples, the environmental risk assessment for exposure of the Malagueno population and the source ~apportionment of these pollutants.