Page 365 - Fundamentals of Air Pollution 3E

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Air Pollution Modeling

and Prediction

In order to build new facilities or expand existing ones without harming
the environment, it is desirable to assess the air pollution impact of a facility
prior to its construction, rather than construct and monitor to determine
the impact and whether it is necessary to retrofit additional controls. Poten-
tial air pollution impact is usually estimated through the use of air quality
simulation models. A wide variety of models is available. They are usually
distinguished by type of source, pollutant, transformations and removal,
distance of transport, and averaging time. No attempt will be made here
to list all the models in existence at the time of this writing.
In its simplest form, a model requires two types of data inputs: informa-
tion on the source or sources including pollutant emission rate, and meteo-
rological data such as wind velocity and turbulence. The model then simu-
lates mathematically the pollutant's transport and dispersion, and perhaps
its chemical and physical transformations and removal processes. The
model output is air pollutant concentration for a particular time period,
usually at specific receptor locations.

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