The Use of Artificial Activable Trace Elements to Monitor Pollutant Source Strengths and Dispersal Patterns

Abstract

A tracer technique using certain of the rare earth elements which are easily activated by neutrons has been developed for the analysis of air pollution problems. Studies employing these tracers were made to determine whether the available meteorological dispersion models can be used effectively to describe pollution emissions from selected industries in the vicinity of Albany, Oregon. The Gaussian plume model was found to be satisfactory for the moderately intense turbulence fields which characterize Stability Types B, C, and D, including cases in which the pollution was trapped by an inversion layer aloft. For sources near ground level, however, it was necessary to make allowance for urban influences on plume dispersion. A box model best described the observed dispersal pattern when the upward penetration of the very intense turbulence of Stability Type A was limited by an inversion layer aloft. These meteorological models were applied using a “blind” experimental procedure to predict the emission rates of the effluent from multiple sources of air pollution in the Albany area. It was found that these techniques can be used to predict the rate of emission within a factor of two for multiple sources consisting of three stacks.