Modelling the air quality impact of industrial emissions over a valley in Southern Italy

The aim of this study is to support decision makers and stakeholders in the management of air quality in an industrial area located in a valley in southern Italy, where neither air quality nor meteorological parameters are routinely monitored. The first phase focused on the inventory of emissions through monitored data at stacks, permissions to emit from local authorities, and life cycle assessment inventories. Then, the air quality modelling system RAMS-CALMET-CALPUFF was used to simulate local meteorology and atmospheric dispersion of pollutants emitted from the industrial sites and the highway. Preliminary results have provided practical recommendations to equip the area with monitors for both meteorological parameters and concentrations of NOx and PM10, since industrial and vehicle (from both highway and local roads) emissions, added to domestic sources, may potentially infringe air quality standards.