Assessment of Responsibility for Pollution from PM10 and Sulfur Dioxide and Application to an Industrial Area on the Northeastern Coast of Venezuela

Received: February 1, 2012
Revised: July 10, 2012
Accepted: July 10, 2012
Download Citation: RIS|BibTeX|https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2012.02.0023  

Cite this article:
Rincón, G. and Cremades, L.V. (2012). Assessment of Responsibility for Pollution from PM10 and Sulfur Dioxide and Application to an Industrial Area on the Northeastern Coast of Venezuela. Aerosol Air Qual. Res. 12: 722-732. https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2012.02.0023

ABSTRACT

This study proposes a methodology to determine the origin of industrial emissions in order to attribute responsibility to the industries that pollute nearby towns. The methodology has been applied to the industrial area on the northeastern coast of Venezuela. This area is close to six densely populated towns. The study also gives the estimated PM₁₀ and SO₂ levels in the towns adjacent to 11 industries, through modeling the dispersion of air pollutants from stationary sources. The model used has been the Lagrangian particle model LADISMO. The results are discussed by comparing the estimated values by the model with the limits proposed by the World Health Organization and United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Keywords: PM10; Sulfur dioxide; Dispersion modeling; Air quality; Assign responsibilities