Overview
A tool has been developed to complete initial testing of process emissions from industrial plants.
This Excel tool has been developed to help local authorities determine, for each pollutant and air quality objective of concern, the maximum annual emissions from an industrial installation for which a risk of exceedance is unlikely.
The methodology consists of comparing the actual annual emissions for each industrial installation against the maximum annual emissions calculated by the tool. If actual emissions are greater than the maximum emissions, then the local authority should proceed to a more detailed assessment, based on dispersion modelling and/or monitoring.
The tool is based on a series of nomograms developed as part of previous versions of LAQM Technical Guidance, but which are still considered relevant. It considers both industrial stack emissions, and low-level, fugitive emissions.
In addition, the Total Oxidant Concentrations document provides the 99.8th percentile concentrations of total oxidant (i.e. NOx+O3, as NO2) for all AURN sites where data is available, for the 2017-2019 period. This data can be used as input data within the Industrial Screening Tool, to determine the maximum NOx emissions (in tonnes per annum) from a stack, for which there should be no risk of exceedance of the NO2 short-term (1-hour mean) air quality objective. See para 7.38 and Box 7-1 of Technical Guidance LAQM.TG(22) for more information.
Current Version
Documents
Industrial Emissions Screening Tool v3.0
Released: April 2017 (XLS, 315KB)
Total Oxidant Concentrations
Released: June 2020 (PDF, 34KB, 2 Pages)
Details
In order to use this tool, local authorities will need to gather the following information for each industrial installation that requires screening:
- Stack internal diameter.
- Actual stack height above ground level.
- Actual annual emissions for all pollutants of concern.
- Where necessary, exit stack temperature.
- Where necessary, distance to nearest relevant exposure.
- Height of nearby buildings, which may prevent good dispersion of the plume.
- Where necessary, background concentrations of the pollutant assessed.
Please note that sites with a lower percentage data capture may lead to a higher degree of uncertainty in the calculated percentile value.
The Total Oxidant Concentrations table is expected to be updated annually and therefore is not provided within LAQM.TG(22). Please also note that the sites detailed within the Total Oxidant Concentrations table with a lower percentage data capture may lead to a higher degree of uncertainty in the calculated percentile value.
Further information with regards to screening industrial emissions is provided within Technical Guidance LAQM.TG22.
