Estimating atmospheric dilution of brief, infrequent, random releases

• Published in: Atmospheric environment 1979, Vol.13 (1), p.29-33
• Main Authors: Crawford, Timothy L., Morris, William B.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0004-6981; 1352-2310
• DOI: 10.1016/0004-6981(79)90241-5

Brief, infrequent, random releases of pollutants into the atmosphere occur in a number of industrial operations. Their irregular occurrence requires that their impact be assessed stochastically. Probability distributions of the possible normalized concentrations resulting from these releases are approximated by a method that scales easily calculated distributions in a simple manner. The technique is explained through a series of progressively more comprehensive examples - from a single, 1-hour random release to multiple, random releases lasting several hours. Potential impacts defined by these distributions span a broad range of values and depend nonlinearly on the number of releases and the level of probability. Applications, limitations, and possible extensions and improvements of the method are discussed.