Results of atmospheric dispersion model for the localization of a MSW incinerator

The present study reports the attempt to localize a MSW incinerator, starting from three proposed sites, on the basis of the atmospheric transport and dispersion modelling. The considered area, around Turin, in North-Western Italy, is characterized by a high percentage of hours of calm wind, so the choice of the atmospheric model is very important in order to have reliable and convincing results. In the present study we used the AERMOD model by the U.S. EPA, that is a hybrid atmospheric dispersion model which can treat the calm hours within a more restrained computational time with respect to Eulerian or Lagrangian models. The investigated issue is generally a very delicate and thorny argument because of the natural opposition of the people against this kind of plant. The first thing to do to treat the localization of a MSW incinerator is to calculate the concentrations at the ground level due to the emitted pollutants and to compare them to the air quality regulations; secondly, one can think about the possibility of building a district heating system or distributing technological vapour service to industrial users, avoiding the respective emission of pollutants. In practice, the concentrations at the ground level when the incinerator is placed in the three proposed sites are very comparable and, for each site, much smaller than the air quality regulations and the measured levels of the area. The best localization is then determined by the possibility of realising a large district heating system.