Downwind Hazard Calculations for Space Shuttle Launches at Kennedy Space Center and Vandenberg Air Force Base

摘要

Presented in this report for several meteorological conditions, are the quantitative estimates of pollutant concentrations associated with the emission of the major combustion products (HC1, CO, and A1203) to the lower atmosphere during normal launches of the Space Shuttle at Kennedy Space Center and Vandenberg Air Force Base. The developmental experience in diffusion modeling was obtained from analyses of the dispersion procedure for effluents from the Scout-Algol HI, Delta-Thor Telsat A, Titan III-C and E, and Saturn V. The NASA/ MSFC Multilayer Diffusion Model was used to obtain these calculations. In this report, results are presented for nine sets of typical meteorological conditions at Kennedy Space Center, including fall, spring, and a sea-breeze condition, and six sets at Vandenberg AFB. Outside an industrial area of 10 km at Kennedy Space Center and outside a similar distance at Vandenberg AFB, if a 10-min short term public limit of 4 ppm of HC1 is applied (National Academy of Science/ National Research Council Committee on Toxicology), in none of the selected typical meteorological regimes studied (see Table 2 of text) was this 10-min limit exceeded. Also, scavenging of the exhaust cloud by precipitation was not considered and may result in increased concentration. Since all possible meteorological conditions that may exist during a Space Shuttle launch were not assessed in accordance with the Environmental Statement for the Space Shuttle Program issued in 1972, NASA intends to include in its operational procedures an assessment of downwind by-product concentration for the meteorological conditions expected at launch time.