Computation and Mapping of the Dispersion and Herbage Uptake of Gaseous Effluents from Industrial Plants

Abstract

There are many industrial processes which release substances known to be injurious to man or damaging to his environment, where the extent of damage is a complex function of a large number of variables. The task of Management in monitoring and controlling the releases to the atmosphere can thus be formidable. Decisions may have to be made on widely divergent topics such as: the number and type of sampling devices to install on the plant; the extent to which specific operational or maintenance procedures which require a short duration release above the ‘acceptable’ average release can be tolerated; whether off-site sampling is required and if so what type, where, how and at what frequency. Often decisions of this type are required at short notice and are subject to considerable commercial pressure. To assist in this situation the Authors have written a suite of computer routines which will enable rapid computation of air contamination downwind from complex release patterns. Routines exist whereby isopleths of ground level air concentration averaged over varying time intervals are automatically plotted for rapid appraisal. In addition integrated air concentrations can be predicted for specified locations, such as air sampling stations, and these results printed out. Further routines compute the levels of contamination within plant and animal species as a function of time during the exposure.