Intake Fraction of PM10 from Coal Mine Emissions in the North of Colombia

Abstract

ABSTRACT: In this study, intake fraction was determined to provide insight into population exposures to PM10 that 11 is effectively inhaled due to emissions of an opencast coal mine. We applied the CALPUFF model to a 12 coal mine in northern Colombia, which has 6 active pits with an annual production of 33.7 Million Ton. 13 An estimated the intake fraction for 7 towns through of integration of dispersion model results over the 14 population data. The resulting average intake fractions were between 6.13×10-9 and 3.66×10-8 for PM10. 15 62.4% of the intake fractions in the domain were calculated within a 23 km radius from the coal mine and 16 coved 44.3% of the total population in this area. We calculated an estimate point for morbidity impacts 17 using standard epidemiological assumptions. It is estimated that there were annually 105835 restricted 18 activity days and 336832 respiratory symptoms cases due to the direct impact of the opencast coal 19 mining. These data also provide a framework for improved understanding of the effect of coal mining in 20 Colombia.