Peculiarities of Exposure Assessment for the Population Living in the Zones of Chemical Pollution of Ambient Air

Abstract

PP-30-017 Background/Aims: Estimation of the pollutant concentration in the ambient air is one of the key stages of human exposure assessment for the population that is living on the territories with high levels of air pollution. Exposure assessment requires calculation of concentrations for different averaging periods depending on the acute or chronic and prolonged effects. The study was aimed at analysis of the pollutant concentration calculation approaches described in OND-86 methodology that is applied for emission regulations in Ukraine and methods introduced by United States Environmental Protection Agency and program complex AERMOD View. Methods: The comparison was done on the results of the calculation that included 27 industrial enterprises with low point sources of cold emissions. The average height of the stacks is 16.5 ± 1.8 meters (median = 18.2 meters, maximum = 23 meters, minimum = 2 meters), average temperature of the emissions equals 36.6°C ± 1.8°C (median = 55.1°C, maximum = 89°C, minimum = 25°C). Calculations were done for 17 polluting substances in the uniform polar receptors grid that was divided into 5 intervals according to 8 direction radials. Results: Maximum 20-minutes concentrations were calculated according to the OND-86 approach. Average 1 hour, 24 hours, and annual concentrations were modeled in AERMOD view. The comparison shows that maximum 20-minutes concentrations are applicable for the estimation of acute effects. Analysis of the chronic effects can be done if the concentration averaging period equals at least 24 hours. The correlation analysis of the maximum 20-minutes and 1-hour concentrations, as both samples comply with requirements of the linear dependence, proved statistically the hypothesis of absence of the correlation between maximum 20-minutes and 1-hour concentrations. Conclusion: This study proves the necessity of changes in the Ukrainian air quality regulating legislation and orientation on the official application of ambient air pollution modeling programs that allow to receive not just maximum concentrations for 20 minutes interval but wider diapasons of meanings for longer averaging periods.