Study of meteorological aspects and urban concentration of SO2 in Atmospheric Environment of La Plata.Argentina

GUSTAVO RATTO; FABIÁN VIDELA; J. REYNA ALMANDOS; RICARDO MARONNA; DANIEL SCHINCA

ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT

Springer

Año: 2006 p. 327 - 342

0167-6369

This article presents and discusses SO2 (ppbv) concentration measurements combined with meteorological data (mainly wind speed and direction) for a five-year campaign (1996 – 2000), in a site near an oil refinery plant close to the city of La Plata and surroundings (aprox. 740000 inh.), considered to be one of the six most affected cities by air pollution in the country. Since there is no monitoring network in the area, the obtained results should be considered as medium term accumulated data that enables to determine trends by analyzing together gas concentrations and meteorological parameters. Preliminary characterization of the behavior of the predominant winds of the region in relation with potential atmospheric gas pollutants from seasonal wind roses is possible to carry out from the data. These results are complemented with monthly averaged SO2 measurements. In particular, for year 2000, pollutant roses were determined which enable predictions about contamination emission sources. As a general result, we can state that there is a clear increase in annual SO2 concentration and that the selected site should be considered as a key site for future survey monitoring network deployment. Annual SO2 average concentration and prevailing seasonal winds determined in this work, together with the potential health impact of SO2 reveals the need for a comprehensive and systematic study involving particulate matter and other basic pollutant gases.