Distribution of airborne particles from multi-emission source

The purpose of this work was to study the distribution of airborne particles in the surroundings of an iron and steel factory in southern Finland. Several sources of particulate emissions are lying side by side, causing heavy dust loading to the environment. This complicated multi-pollutant situation was studied mainly by SEM/EDX methodology.Particles accumulated on Scots pine bark were identified andquantitatively measured according to their element content,size and shape. As a result, distribution maps of particulateelements were drawn and the amount of different particle typesalong the study lines was plotted. Particulate emissions fromthe industrial or energy production processes were not themain dust source. Most emissions were produced from theclinker crusher. Numerous stockpiles of the industrial wastesand raw materials also gave rise to particulate emissions as aresult of wind erosion. It was concluded that SEM/EDXmethodology is a useful tool for studying the distribution ofparticulate pollutants.