Spatial and temporal variation of PM10 from industrial point sources in a rural area in limpopo, South Africa

Abstract

Air pollution from industrial point sources accounts for a large proportion of air pollution issues affecting many communities around the world. However, emissions from these sources are technically controllable by putting in place abatement technologies with feasible and stringent regulatory conditions in the operation licenses. Pollution from other sources such as soil erosion, forest fires, road dust, and biomass burning, are subject to several unpredictable natural or economic factors. In this study, findings from dispersion modelling and spatial analysis of pollution were presented to evaluate the potential impacts of PM10 emissions from point sources in the Greater Tubatse Municipality of Limpopo, South Africa. The Air Pollution Model (TAPM) was used to model nested horizontal grids down to 10 km for meteorology and 4 km resolution for air pollution was used for simulation of PM10. An analysis of annual and seasonal variations of PM10 emissions from point sources was undertaken to demonstrate their impact on the environment and the surrounding communities based on 2016 emissions data. A simple Kriging method was used to generate interpolation surfaces for PM10 concentrations from industrial sources with the purpose of identifying their areas of impact. The results suggest that valley wind channeling is responsible for the distribution of pollutants in a complex terrain. The results revealed that PM10 concentrations were higher closer to the sources during the day and distributed over a wide area during the night.