Source-to-exposure assessment with the Pangea multi-scale framework - case study in Australia.

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Atmospheric Chemistry
• Public Health

Background:

• Air quality management requires understanding pollutant sources and their impact on populations.
• Current analyses often lack integration between emission sources and exposed communities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To extend the Pangea framework for analyzing industrial organic pollutant source-to-receptor relationships in Australia.
• To inform emission and exposure reduction strategies by considering both emitter and receptor viewpoints.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the Pangea spatial multi-scale multimedia framework to model pollutant transport and fate.
• Solved large compartmental systems for numerous emission scenarios to determine population exposure via inhalation and ingestion.
• Analyzed source-to-receptor relationships for industrial organic pollutants across diverse Australian environments.

Main Results:

• Population intakes varied significantly based on source location and pollutant type (e.g., benzene, formaldehyde).
• Benzene exposure extended further than formaldehyde due to longer atmospheric travel distances.
• The petroleum, steel, electricity, and petroleum refining sectors were identified as major contributors to benzene and formaldehyde exposures.

Conclusions:

• Integrating emitter and receptor perspectives is crucial for effective airshed pollution mitigation.
• The Pangea framework provides valuable insights for both product-oriented approaches (e.g., Life Cycle Assessment) and health risk reduction strategies.