Aerial monitoring of atmospheric particulate matter produced by open-pit mining using low-cost airborne sensors.

Autor: Zafra-Pérez A; CIQSO-Center for Research in Sustainable Chemistry, Associate Unit CSIC-University of Huelva 'Atmospheric Pollution', Campus El Carmen s/n, 21007 Huelva, Spain., Boente C; Departamento de Ingeniería Geológica y Minera, E.T.S.I. Minas y Energía de Madrid, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, C/ Ríos Rosas 21, Madrid, 28003, Spain. Electronic address: c.boente@upm.es., García-Díaz M; Department of Fluid Mechanics, University of Oviedo, C/Wifredo Ricart, Gijón 33204, Spain., Gómez-Galán JA; Department of Electronic Engineering, Computers and Automation, University of Huelva, Huelva 21007, Spain., de la Campa AS; CIQSO-Center for Research in Sustainable Chemistry, Associate Unit CSIC-University of Huelva 'Atmospheric Pollution', Campus El Carmen s/n, 21007 Huelva, Spain; Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Experimental Sciences, University of Huelva, Huelva 21007, Spain., de la Rosa JD; CIQSO-Center for Research in Sustainable Chemistry, Associate Unit CSIC-University of Huelva 'Atmospheric Pollution', Campus El Carmen s/n, 21007 Huelva, Spain; Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Experimental Sciences, University of Huelva, Huelva 21007, Spain.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: The Science of the total environment [Sci Total Environ] 2023 Dec 15; Vol. 904, pp. 166743. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Sep 01.
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166743
Abstrakt: Mining is an economic activity that entails the production and displacement of significant amounts of atmospheric particulate matter (PM) during operations involving intense earthcrushing or earthmoving. As high concentrations of PM may have adverse effects on human health, it is necessary to monitor and control the fugitive emissions of this pollutant. This paper presents an innovative methodology for the online monitoring of PM 10 concentrations in air using a low-cost sensor (LCS, <300 USD) onboard an unmanned aerial vehicle. After comprehensive calibration, the LCS was horizontally flown over seven different areas of the large Riotinto copper mine (Huelva, Spain) at different heights to study the PM 10 distribution at different longitudes and altitudes. The flights covered areas of zero activity, intense mining, drilling, ore loading, waste discharge, open stockpiling, and mineral processing. In the zero-activity area, the resuspension of PM 10 was very low, with a weak wind speed (3.6 m/s). In the intense-mining area, unhealthy concentrations of PM 10 (>51 μgPM 10 /m 3 ) could be released, and the PM 10 can reach surrounding populations through long-distance transport driven by several processes being performed simultaneously. Strong dilution was also observed at high altitudes (> 50 m). Mean concentrations were found to be 22-89 μgPM 10 /m 3 , with peaks ranging from 86 to 284 μgPM 10 /m 3 . This study demonstrates the potential applicability of airborne LCSs in the high-resolution online monitoring of PM in mining, thus supporting environmental managers during decision-making against fugitive emissions in a cost-effective manner.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this study.
(Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
Externí odkaz: