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Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis; 2006; v. 6; issue.2-3; p. 111-120;
DOI: 10.1144/1467-7873/05-098
© 2006 Geological Society of London

Original Article

The physical and chemical evolution of aerosols in smelter and power plant plumes: an airborne study

Catharine Banic1, W. Richard Leaitch1, Kevin Strawbridge1, Richard Tanabe1, Henry Wong2, Clément Gariépy3, Antonio Simonetti3, Zdenek Nejedly4, J.L. (Iain) Campbell4, Julia Lu5, Jim Skeaff6, Dogan Paktunc6, J.I. MacPherson7, Sreerama Daggupaty1, Hélène Geonac'h3, Amares Chatt8 & Marc Lamoureux9

1 Air Quality Research Branch, Meteorological Service of Canada, Environment Canada, 4905 Dufferin Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M3H 5T4 (e-mail: cathy.banic@ec.gc.ca)
2 AERB, National Water Research Institute, Environment Canada, Burlington, Ontario, Canada, L7R 4A6
3 GEOTOP, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada, H3C 3P8
4 Department of Physics, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada, N1G 2W1
5 Department of Chemistry, Biology and Chemical Engineering, Ryerson Polytechnic University, Toronto, Ontario,Canada, M5B 2K3
6 Environmental Laboratory, Mining and Minerals Sciences Laboratories, CANMET, Natural Resources,Canada, K1A 0G1
7 Institute for Aerospace Research, National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1A 0R6
8 Department of Chemistry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, B3H 4J3
9 Saint Mary's University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, B3H 3C3

National and international concern about the health effects and continued use of Pb, Cd, As and Hg as well as other metals has defined a need for improved estimates of the long-term risks to ecosystems and human health from metals released from mining, metallurgical and energy production activities. A research aircraft was used to determine the microphysical and chemical properties of airborne particulate metal emissions from the Nanticoke coal-fired power-generating station located on the north shore of Lake Erie, Ontario, and the Horne copper smelter at Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec. These properties are critical to the determination of the deposition rates of the metals emitted, and hence the potential for these species to have impacts on local or distant ecosystems. An overview of the measurements made during the study is given. The size distributions of particles emitted from the stacks and observed within 5 km of the point of emission are briefly described. After dilution by ambient air, the concentration of particles smaller than 0.135 µm in diameter in the plumes is tens of thousands per cubic centimetre, far exceeding the concentrations found in ambient air. However, in the size range 0.135 to 3 µm diameter the plumes generally contribute about one to four times more particles than present in ambient air.

Key Words: atmospheric transport of metals • deposition of metals • particles • metals • smelter emissions • coal-burning power plant emissions • mercury