Air quality monitoring

Air quality monitoring on 10 sites for more than 30 years, for Enel Production

For more than three decades CESI has performed air quality monitoring activities at industrial sites all over Italy, especially around thermoelectric plants. We monitor air quality before and during construction of plants to assess background levels of pollution and estimate potential damage to local residents. We also assess the exposure of workers and the local population to harmful airborne compounds and fine dust during all phases of construction and plant management.

Our air monitoring campaigns identify a large variety of airborne pollutants, from gases to volatile and semi-volatile compounds, different sizes of particulate matter (from ultra-fine to large particles) and atmospheric depositions (rain and dust fall), in relation to emissions from industrial plants and other potential local sources in the relevant area to evaluate the possible impact on human health.

We collect high-quality meteorological data and use dedicated software to determine the main sources of pollutants, to distinguish between natural and anthropogenic sources and to identify a specific source. CESI uses sophisticated analysis to identify airborne chemical markers and software such as the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Chemical Mass Balance model to separate source contributions.
The field of air monitoring studies has expanded over the years to include assessment of dust dispersion and the impact of vehicle emissions during construction activities, as well as emissions from pollutants from tanks and pipelines.

Our experienced air monitoring team can design and conduct environmental projects in very complex industrialised urban areas, with all activities carried out according to international, national and local laws and verified to ensure compliance with air quality standards. Every project is developed in close co-operation with the contractor, and we support them in managing relationships with local and national authorities.

Thanks to the amount of data we collect, CESI can provide assessments of the trends for particulates (PM10, PM2.5 and PTS) and inorganic and organic micropollutants in areas where key national power plants are located, in order to evaluate the potential contribution of new industrial plants.