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Monitoring of Air Quality and of Odor Emissions
Gaseous emissions produced by MSW landfills are due both to internal and external sources. Such emissions, produced by organic matter degradation, are characterized by high concentrations of greenhouse gases, dangerous for environment, and by many other components that generate bad odor, even at low concentrations. The impact of such polluting substances affects the areas near a landfill, where the population often complains about the discomfort.
To assess the air quality and the effective impact of a MSW landfill on nearby territory,specific surveys should be carried out to detect the presence of major contaminants, without limiting it to just what is required by law.
The study on air quality includes preliminary actions aimed at the definition of the affected area:
- Geographical and environmental characteristics of the territory
- Urban development of the area;
- Identification of the main routes;
- Identification of industrial plants in the area and localization/quantification of the main sources of emission
I contaminanti monitorati sono:
- CH4, CO2
- NH3 ed H2S
- VOC (volatile organic compounds)
- Aldehydes and ketones
- Mercaptans
- PM10 and PM2.5
A detailed chemical speciation allows the use of advanced Source Apportionment techniques: the so called “receptor” diagnostic models able to identify the sources and their contribution to gas concentrations, starting from the measurement of each sampled chemical species at the sampling site (receptor). Furthermore, a deterministic approach is used to calculate the concentration of the main soil pollutants emitted by the landfill, starting from the features of each source and from the atmospheric conditions, and describes the plume trend. The combined use of both deterministic and receptor models allows to assess alandfill impact on air in the nearby territory.