Atmospheric diffusion profiles and health risks of typical VOC: Numerical modelling study

Volatile organic compounds (VOC) are dominantly from industrial production. Comprehension of atmospheric diffusion of VOC is realistic to discharge reduction. Here, transport ranges of VOC were analyzed by aerodynamics modelling, and validated with on-site monitoring. By combining a terrain evolution model, spatiotemporal distributions of typical VOC, the impacts of wind speeds and directions in relation to topographical parameters were acquired. The model outputs show that the low elevation landscapes experience significant variation in concentration distributions of VOC when accompanied by strong shear flow regimes with non-uniform wind velocities. Case studies suffer 13.0% and 24.2% increases of VOC concentration ratio outside/inside industry park, with long-range transport of VOC indicated by dominances of lower wind speeds and higher humidity. High ratio, from atmospheric diffusion of VOC from industry park, poses great exposure risk to surrounding residents. The spatial map of time-specific health risks, proving VOC concentration accumulation enhancing risks of school-aged children than adults, was consequently produced from models. Overall, addressing the impact of regularities during VOC diffusion on occupational workers and residents will suggest a valuable reference for decision-making of emission-abatement strategies and awareness-raising health-risk interventions. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.