Abstract
The emissions from vessels utilising heavy fuel oil include large amounts of nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide and particulate matter, presenting significant health risks to people living near ports. To determine the effect of these emissions on human health, complex atmospheric dispersion modelling using CALPUFF assesses ground-level concentrations at receptors surrounding the sources. This paper demonstrates the application of the methodology by applying it to Port of Brisbane for the full 2013 calendar year. Various Health impact assessments as well as carcinogenic and ecological effects are discussed in depth. Results reveal that with the imminent development of many Australian ports, there is a need for continual monitoring of emissions caused by shipping.
Highlights
It is widely agreed that shipping exhaust emissions are a significant source of air pollution (Corbett et al, 1999; Cooper, 2003)
It is based on a comprehensive inventory of vessel emissions in Port of Brisbane over a year, using actual vessel movements and applies atmospheric dispersion modelling to this quantified data to predict the ground-level concentrations of gaseous pollutants and the deposition of particulate matter, based on local meteorological and geographical conditions
The case study coverage, given the availability of full data, is rigorous enough to draw solid conclusions suggesting there is the potential for further investigation into actual risk estimations on Australian ports and the need to calculate hazard values
Summary
It is widely agreed that shipping exhaust emissions are a significant source of air pollution (Corbett et al, 1999; Cooper, 2003). Studies in Australia have considered total emissions both within coastal waters (Goldsworthy and Goldsworthy, 2015) and in a specific port (Goldsworthy and Renilson, 2013), but have not yet quantified their dispersion and deposition across local populations. This paper presents the methodology to obtain emissions concentrations within Australian ports in general and in a case study of Port of Brisbane in particular. It is based on a comprehensive inventory of vessel emissions in Port of Brisbane over a year, using actual vessel movements and applies atmospheric dispersion modelling to this quantified data to predict the ground-level concentrations of gaseous pollutants and the deposition of particulate matter, based on local meteorological and geographical conditions. On the final stage, assessing each resulting emission concentration for its individual health impact, based on a calculated risk values for each concentration has been identified
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