Investigation and quantification of air pollution distribution from industrial stacks by AERMOD software in the southwest of Bandar Abbas County

One of the fundamental problems of air pollution is that it often affects large areas of various land uses, such as cities and agricultural products hundreds of kilometers away from the source of pollutants, or results in cumulative effects with other industries. This research aims to quantify the concentration of pollutants in residential areas around industrial areas.

In this study, the AERMOD software was used for modeling air pollutants. This software uses meteorological data, digital elevation models, and information about pollutant sources. It assesses and quantifies air pollution levels related to PM10, SOX, NOx, and CO pollutants in a specific location.

The results of this study indicate that in these 28 population points surrounding the targeted industrial land use, pollutant concentrations in both scenarios with and without background concentrations did not exceed the standard limits for any pollutant. The most significant pollutant in this research was NOx, which showed the slightest difference from the permissible pollution limit. Furthermore, due to the closer proximity of pollutants to environmental standards in this region, increased loading of industrial land uses can lead to various health, economic, and social problems.

The findings of this research demonstrate that to assess and quantify pollutant concentrations in the areas surrounding industrial pollutant points, it is advisable to consider background pollution in addition to modeling point sources for greater accuracy in the direction of sustainable development in such areas.