Articles
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A puff-particle dispersion model
A meso-scale puff diffusion model is presented which makes use of the concept of relative diffusion to disperse the puffs and moves their centres of mass by incorporating a Lagrangian stochastic dispersion model as it is normally used to describe particle dispersion. The so-called puff-particle model (PPM) retains the advantages of traditional puff models and at the same time is able to take into ...
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Operational short-range analytical air pollution modelling
Operational models that use solutions of the advection-diffusion equation based on more realistic assumptions than that of homogeneous wind and eddy diffusivity coefficients are presented. In particular, these solutions accept that wind and eddy diffusivity profiles are power functions of the height. Moreover, a practical short-range model evaluating ground-level concentrations from elevated ...
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An overview of the REDIPHEM project
The Commission of the European Communities has been funding research projects to develop an understanding of chemical and physical phenomena related to industrial hazards, such as toxic and flammable releases and explosions. These projects result in predictive models and experimental data. To make these models and data available for a wider community and to judge their areas of application, the ...
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Assessment and validation of the SEVEX Project
The SEVEX Project has been developed to assess the contamination zones in complex areas, subsequent to an accidental (hypothetical) release of hazardous materials at industrial sites. It is divided into three interlinked modules (source, meteorological and dispersion), the output of which can be used by public authorities for the evaluation of risk areas and the preparation of emergency planning. ...
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Datasets and protocol for model validation
Prior to the present workshop, a so-called Model Validation Kit was distributed to approximately 40 research groups who were invited to test their own dispersion models with it. The Kit is a collection of three experimental datasets accompanied by software for model evaluation. It is a practical tool, meant to serve as a common frame of reference for modellers. Here, a brief description of the ...
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Methodology for a comparative evaluation of two air-quality models
This paper presents a methodology for conducting an objective comparative evaluation of two air-quality models using several datasets. This methodology is designed to be simple to implement and understand, to reliably discern improvement in performance, and to accommodate the use of datasets from a variety of field studies of varying quality. The reliability of the comparison is enhanced by the ...
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Lessons learned from the Case Study Zagreb Project
The Case Study Zagreb is the title of a project developed in the framework of the Inter-Agency Programme on the Assessment and Management of Health and Environmental Risks from Energy and Other Complex Industrial Systems. The programme, jointly undertaken by four UN organisations (UNEP, WHO, IAEA and UNIDO) aims at promoting and facilitating the implementation of the risk assessment and ...
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SOCRATES: a computerized toolkit for quantification of the risk from accidental releases of toxic and/or flammable substances
A computerised toolkit for quantification of the risk from accident releases of toxic and/or flammable substances is presented. Methodological and procedural steps for quantifying the consequences and the associated risk to health is presented, along with their implementation in a user-friendly computer package. The methodology and the associated toolkit have the capability of integrated risk ...
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Inversions and air pollution in Istanbul
Owing to the rapidly growing and inefficient usage of fuel, air pollution has increased in Istanbul. The levels are affected by the weak dispersion conditions in the city. The strength of the inversion can be explained by the temperature difference between the top and bottom boundaries and their height. In this study, nighttime surface inversion heights have been found to range between 84 m and ...
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Pre-processing of meteorological data: vertical profiles
In the framework of COST-710, working group III aims to recommend formulations of atmospheric vertical profiles of wind, temperature and turbulence. This intermediate report gives a brief overview of existing methods to calculate vertical profiles. A short note on existing datasets for validation purposes is given.Keywords: atmospheric turbulence, turbulence time-, scale, vertical profiles, ...
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Application of meteorological pre-processor for next generation dispersion models for Hungary
Research has been started by Hungarian regulatory modellers for the preparation of next generation dispersion models applied in EIA studies. This new generation will require advanced planetary boundary layer parameters in Gaussian plume models. The author investigated the validation of the meteorological pre-processor TRIP for Hungary.Keywords: meteorological pre-, processors, atmospheric ...
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The ADMS building effects module
We describe the features required of practical models for building-affected dispersion and the modelling used in ADMS to provide them. We go on to illustrate the model's capabilities through sensitivity studies and comparisons with data.Keywords: atmospheric dispersion models, building effects, concentrations, air pollution, environmental pollution, ...
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Political economy issues of environmentally friendly transport policies
This paper discusses problems of the political and social feasibility of environmentally friendly transport policies. It presents a politico-economic model for this purpose. Special attention is given to the role of voters in the feedback from society to the government. A multidimensional spatial model of voters' preferences is discussed, combined with theories about the way voters' preferences ...
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Methodology for conducting screening-level ecological risk assessments for hazardous waste sites. Part I: overview
The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) is a Department of Energy (DOE) facility. To assess the impact of the site activities and releases on ecological receptors, the INEEL implemented a phased approach for conducting ecological risk assessments (ERAS). This approach applies an iterative, 'tiered' process, in which conservative preliminary assessments support ...
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SMEDIS: scientific model evaluation of dense gas dispersion models
SMEDIS is a project currently in progress to develop a protocol for the scientific evaluation of dense gas dispersion (DGD) models, with particular emphasis on the complex effects of obstacles, terrain and aerosols often found in real situations, and then to apply this protocol to DGD models currently in use in Europe. This paper describes the general features of a model evaluation project and ...
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SMOGSTOP: A new way of forecasting ozone concentrations at ground level
Every summer, ground-level ozone concentrations rise in Belgium and cause episodes of photochemical summer smog. This phenomenon is the cause of well-recognised public health distress, especially for people suffering from respiratory diseases. In order to warn groups of sensitive people of forthcoming smog episodes, VITO (the Flemish Institute for Technological Research) and VMM (the Flemish ...
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Effects of concentration fluctuations on statistical evaluations of centreline concentration estimates by atmospheric dispersion models
An investigation is undertaken of a concept expressed in a draft Guide under construction, which recommends that evaluation data having similar meteorological and physical conditions be grouped together, the modelling results and observations be separately averaged and that the evaluation shall consist of a comparison of the respective averages. It is determined that, even though large ...
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A model for simulating atmospheric dispersion in low-wind conditions
A practical model for low-wind conditions was derived by integration of an instantaneous three-dimensional Gaussian puff equation, in which wind speed was assumed to be zero and standard deviations of a smoke (σy and σz) were expressed as a linear function of the dispersion time. When the plume spreads σy and σz were assumed to be linear functions of dispersion time, the ...
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Development and evaluation of the ADMS building effects module
The structure and algorithms which comprise the ADMS building effects module are summarised and their performance illustrated against ground-level concentration distributions for seven test cases. Overall, this reveals a mean bias up to a factor of 3, being on average a factor of 2 in the near-wake and 0.7 in the main-wake. Some issues that arose from the model development and application are ...
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Photochemical smog modelling in Prague
A model for simulation and evaluation of summer episodes of anthropogenic surface ozone (summer smog episodes) is presented in this paper. This model has been used for air-pollution studies in the region of Prague (central part of Bohemia, the Czech Republic). It is based on so-called "puff model" technology and the Lagrangian method of trajectory construction in the boundary layer of ...
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