SOURCE ATTRIBUTION OF INDUSTRIAL FUGITIVE DUSTS: CASE STUDIES FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AGENCY, UK

摘要

Fugitive dust from industrial activities is a long-standing and intractable problem. Quarrying and mining, construction and demolition, landfill, waste transfer and reprocessing, bulk materials handling (especially at ports, docks and harbours), and arable farming are obvious examples where dust is produced. The impacts of dust emissions from such activities are broadly recognised but, especially within crowded urban and suburban areas where industrial and residential areas are often juxtaposed, there may be many potential dust sources within and beyond any given locality. Consideration of potential fugitive dust impacts from planned industrial sites is a frequent part of environmental and social impact assessment, and subsequent monitoring of dust emissions a necessary test enforced by legislation and/or best practice guidance. Rarely, but in such cases significantly, disputes may arise about the causes and consequences of dust impacts. These can become good examples for environmental forensics, requiring the constraint of source - pathway - receptor with sufficient robust evidence for responsibilities to be established and decisions to be made.