Atmospheric Pollution Prevention

Prevention of Atmospheric Pollution

• Presented by Laurie RIO in January 2025
• Service for the prevention of anthropogenic risks
• Industrial Risks, Chronic Health, Environment Division

Summary

• Topics to be covered include atmospheric pollution, ambient air quality, legionella risk, industrial emissions, health risk assessment, and reducing consumption and emissions of VOCs.

What is Atmospheric Pollution?

• Introduced by the Law on Air and Rational Use of Energy in 1996, known as the LAURE law.
• Considered the introduction by humans, directly or indirectly, into the atmosphere and enclosed spaces, of substances with harmful consequences.
• Consequences may endanger human health, harm biological resources and ecosystems, influence climate change, damage material goods, or cause excessive olfactory nuisances.

Regulated Domains

• Industrial Hygiene: focus on the air quality for workers.
• Ambient Air Quality (Exterior): refers to the air humans breathe.
• Ambient Air Quality (Interior): refers to the air quality inside habitats.
• Atmospheric Releases or Emissions: involves releases from equipment into the ambient air.

Multiple Forms of Atmospheric Pollution

• Atmospheric pollution can take multiple forms visible, like smoke, or invisible, like pesticides.
• It can be emitted in dispersed quantities, like through vehicle exhaust, or locally from a fixed source, such as a chimney or factory.
• Mobile sources such as cars, pesticide spreaders, maritime or aerial transport contribute to pollution.
• All these sources lead to global pollution that affects both indoor and outdoor environments.

Sources of Atmospheric Pollution

• Sources of air pollution include volcanic eruptions, pollens, forest fires, transport, erosion of soils, industrial activities, green waste, traffic, domestic heating and marine salt.

Common Atmospheric Pollutants: Origins, Effects, and Examples

• Sulfur Dioxide (SO2): mainly from industrial sources (83%) and fossil fuel combustion, leading to irritation and acid rain. Example source includes boilers and oil refining.
• Nitrogen Oxides (NOx): Primarily from transport (61%) and combustion, causes irritation and pulmonary infections; examples include glassworks.
• Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC): From residential and tertiary sectors (46%) and industrial sources (36%).
• VOCs are precursors to ozone and cause respiratory issues; examples are paints, ovens, and solvents.
• Particulate Matter (Poussières): originates from residential and tertiary activities (40%) and agriculture (28%). Causes irritation and respiratory problems like careers and dehydration.
• Heavy Metals: from industrial sources, leading to saturnism (lead poisoning) and affecting the body and the environment. Example sources include metallurgy and incinerators.

Reasons to Address Pollution

• Humans breathe in 14,000 liters of air each day.
• Air pollution leads to 40,000 premature deaths per year in France (2021 data).
• People over 30 years old lose between 5-8 months of life expectancy from pollution.
• Pollution results is the formation of acid rain caused by NOx and SOx.
• Pollution causes the destruction of the ozone layer

Evaluating Air Quality

• Air quality can be evaluated through determining the concentrations of pollutants.
• Measurements include emissions from fixed sources or from the atmosphere in work environments.
• Ambient air measurements are conducted by air quality monitoring associations.
• These measurements lead to improvements in air quality.

Air Quality Standards

• Air quality is assessed through the determination of pollutant concentrations.
• This involves measuring emissions from fixed sources or workplace atmospheres and collaborations with air monitoring assocations to assess ambient air quality.
• The goal is to improve general air quality.

European Directives

• Directive 2008/50/CE (2008) focuses on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe.
• Directive 2004/107/CE (2004) concerns arsenic, cadmium, mercury, nickel, and polycyclic hydrocarbons in ambient air.
• Both directives define objectives for ambient air quality to avoid, prevent, or reduce harmful effects on human health and the environment, as well as to evaluate air quality and inform the public.

French Regulations

• European directives are integrated into French law through decrees and codified in the Environmental Code (Book II).
• Decree No. 2010-1250 (October 21, 2010) concerns air quality, setting air quality goals and limit values for pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides, fine particles (PM10 and PM2.5), lead, ozone, and carbon monoxide.
• In addition to the law, Order of October 21, 2010, addresses methods for air quality monitoring and public information.

Air Quality Targets

• For dust, the target for the annual mean is 30 μg/m3, while the alert threshold is a daily mean of 80 μg/m3.
• For NO2, the target for the annual mean is 40 μg/m3, while the alert threshold is an hourly mean of 400 μg/m3 exceeded over three consecutive hours.

NO2 Concentration

• Most exceedances were related to road traffic.
• Between 2000 and 2021, the number of instances where measured values of annual average concentration exceeded acceptable limits were recorded.
• In 2003 = 37 times, in 2019 = 9 times, in 2020 = 1 time and in 2021 = 5 times

Air Quality Monitoring

• Air quality monitoring is entrusted to certified air quality monitoring associations (AASQA), approved by the Ministry of Ecological Transition.
• AASQAs communicate results, and consolidate on a regional level via the Atmo Federation.
• In the Grand Est region, that association is Atmo Grand Est with a web address of: http://www.atmo-gd.asso.fr/
• Monitoring stations are set based on the location and measurement objectives.

Air Protection Plan (PPA)

• The Air Protection Plan (PPA) is mandatory
• Mandated in areas where air quality standards are not met or at risk and for municipalities with over 250,000 residents, regardless of previous exceedances.
• Failure to meet air quality standards results in fines with a 10 million euro fine issued in the summer of 2021 for non-compliance.
• Fensch, Orne and Moselle Valleys of Grand Est are monitored by direction régionale de l'environnement, de l'aménagement et du logement(DREAL) as Air Protection Areas (APP)

Episode of Pollution Peak

• Unified regulatory text exists for pollution peaks.
• An inter-prefectural order from May 24, 2017, addresses the management of atmospheric pollution episodes and the procedures for information, recommendation, and alerts.
• Regulatory texts concern all sectors, procedures for alerts (3 levels) and episodes are classified by type (combustion, mixed, seasonal).
• The goal is to predict and manage pollution peaks as early as possible.

Regulations for Industries

• Prefectural decrees apply to certain enterprises based on declared emissions.
• COV: 100 tons/year (or 30 tons/year in a PPA zone).
• PM 10: 10 tons/year (or 2 tons/year in a PPA zone).
• Approximately one hundred industries in the Grand Est region may declared by the prefecture.
• The approach has been presented to industrialists since 2017.
• Industries are consulted on draft orders during 2nd semester.

Legionella Risk

• Legionella is bacteria with 70 species found in water and soil.
• Legionellosis is primarily linked to anthropogenic activities.
• Risks installations include cooling towers (TAR), hot water systems, and whirlpools.
• Transmission occurs through inhalation of aerosolized micro-droplets of water.

Human Infections

• Pontiac fever presents pseudo-grippal symptoms with a 24-36 hour incubation period.
• The illness can spontaneously heal.
• Legionnaires' disease is a pulmonary form of the infection, the incubation period is 2-10 days.
• Rapid diagnosis (24-36 hours) is possible and treatments include antibiotics.
• Mortality rates range from 10-30%.

Applicable Regulations

• Decree No. 2013-1205 dated December 14, 2013, sets standards and also ministerial orders from the same date.

Principles of Ministerial Orders

• Objective: Maintain Legionella pneumophila concentration in water permanently below 1,000 CFU/L (NF T30-431 standard).
• Means: Preventative and therapeutic actions with monitoring led by the operator.
• Process: Methodical risk analysis (AMR).

Risk Factors

• These factors include air quality, the deposits of Tartre/corrosion/boue, material qualities, conception and operational failures regarding the process and the hydraulics.

Exceedance Measures

• Results between 1,000 and 100,000 CFU/L require curative actions, investigation of the source, and new analysis to locate the source of contamination.
• If these high of levels of results occur over three straight times and the contamination cannot be addressed, the corrective actions, AMR review and new testing need to take place. As well a follow up analysis and a check needs to be performed.
• Reports that exceed 100,000 UFC/L require more stringent safety protocols

Crisis Management

• Health services (ARS) notify the inspector and prefecture of elevated levels for monitoring and follow up measures.
• A crisis unit is formed, which installs (TAR, washing station...) are identified by the services, and then cell decides on action plans.