Intelligent analysis to the contamination in the city of Santiago from Chile

Abstract

Air contamination is one of the biggest problems that affects to the countries in almost any part of the world. The increase in the quantities of gases and particles that are potentially harmful to health and the environment has been verified to world scale, and each day it becomes more obvious that the answer to these problems should concentrate in the search of intelligent solutions. In Chile, by law, the obligation settles down of developing decontamination plans in areas where the levels of pollutants systematically exceed the environmental norms, and plans of prevention where these norms are in danger of being overcome. During the autumn-winter season the population of Santiago's city centre is affected by a sudden increase in the levels of air contamination. This situation is known as a critical episode of atmospheric contamination, and it takes place when there are register high levels of concentration of pollutants during a short period of time. These episodes originate from the convergence of a series of meteorological factors that impede the ventilation of Santiago's basin due to an increase in the previous emissions to the episode. According to the existing by-law, the criteria to decrease a critical episode of contamination is referred to in the index ICAP, that is generated by the data of the Net of Mensuration of gases and particles that are entered into a prognostic method developed by the physicist J. Cassmassi. [44], [47], [55]. This way, the authority makes the decisions with regard to the critical episodes that can affect Santiago's city centre, depending on the predictions that gives a pattern. Our investigational work is framed in the line of looking for intelligent methodologies for prediction and control of environmental problems in Santiago's city centre and its Metropolitan Area. © 2006 Springer.