No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

This study assesses the performance of the Industrial Source Complex Short Term (ISCST3) model in the industrial area of Ravenna, located in the North East of Italy. The ISCST3 model is based on a steady-state Gaussian plume algorithm. It has been developed by USEPA for assessing air quality impact from point, area, and volume sources.In this work, ISCST3 was applied to simulate the air quality for both a short-term (one hour) and a long-term (annual) period.The model performance has been evaluated by comparing predicted and measured concentrations of NO 2 , SO 2 , TPS (Total Suspended Particulate). The software has been tested using the data available from the industrial area of the town and measured by the air quality network of the local Environmental Protection Agency (ARPARER).The model exhibits better performance for long-term than for short-term periods. Generally, simulation of NO 2 and TPS is very good with an accuracy between 30 and 50%. The ISCST3 shows lower performances for SO 2 . It is interesting to note that the SO 2 concentration predictions, both short-and long-term, generally appear overvalued. This result could be due to an overestimation of industrial emission fluxes. A more precise estimation of the emission inventory could allow for a better modelling of the pollutant dispersion.

Air quality monitoring and control are key issues for environmental assessment and management in order to protect public health and the environment. Local and central authorities have developed strategies and tools to manage environmental protection, which, for air quality, consist of monitoring networks with fixed and portable instrumentation and mathematical models. This study develops a methodology for designing short-term air quality campaigns with mobile laboratories (laboratories fully housed within or transported by a vehicle and maintained in a fixed location for a period of time) as a decision support system for environmental management and protection authorities. In particular, the study provides a methodology to identify: (i) the most representative locations to place mobile laboratories and (ii) the best time period to carry out the measurements in the case of short-term air quality campaigns. The approach integrates atmospheric dispersion models and allocation algorithms specifically developed for optimizing the measuring campaigns. The methodology is organized in two phases, each of them divided into several steps. Fourteen allocation algorithms dedicated to three type of receptors (population, vegetation and physical cultural heritage) have been proposed. The methodology has been applied to four short-term air quality campaigns in the Emilia-Romagna region.