Energy use and the atmospheric environment in Hong Kong: Part I. Inventory of air pollutant emmissions and prediction of ground-level concentrations of SO 2 and CO

Abstract

This paper is the first of two papers on the impact of energy use on the atmospheric environment in Hong Kong. We present here an inventory of all major air pollutant emissions in Hong Kong for 1971 and source distributions for sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide. This is followed by a detailed discussion of the distribution of ground-level SO 2 and CO concentrations as predicted with the Hanna/Gifford dispersion model. Predictions are made of seasonal and yearly average concentrations of both pollutants for three stability classes. Seasonal differences are shown to be small, both for SO 2 and CO. Maximum SO 2 concentrations of 3100, 1100 and 675 μg/m 3 are predicted for stable, near-neutral and unstable conditions, respectively. Corresponding figures for CO are 5900, 2275 and 765 μg/m 3. Spatial distribution patterns of ground-level concentrations of both pollutants are discussed. Despite lower per capita energy-use, the high population densities and high levels of commercial and industrial activity result in ambient concentrations of SO 2 and CO which are comparable to those in the big cities of many western industrialised countries.