Air Pollution Assessment Inside and Around Iron Ore Quarries

Abstract

The mathematical description of natural ventilation processes in quarries requires the updating of huge data bases. In order to describe air circulation in a quarry, the known mathematical model was adopted, which takes into account the process of thermal convection from natural as well as from artificial heat sources. The model includes the conventional Navier-Stokes, heat and mass transfer equations. In the hydrodynamic equation the buoyancy force was taken into account as well. The system of differential equations for describing the problem of free thermal convection in the quarry was treated numerically. The developed programs were used to obtain current estimations of the ventilation circuits in quarries in order to determine the pollution levels, needed for the forthcoming practical recommendations. We also examined the distance at which iron, nickel and cobalt spread from the quarry, and the effect of heavy metal pollution on the activity of certain soil enzymes.