Biophysics Group, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
Mathematics and theoretical physics Department, Nuclear Research Center, Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority, Cairo, Egypt.
Sci Rep. 2019 Jul 12;9(1):10081. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-46587-w.
Arab Abu Saed area in Giza governorate, south to Cairo contains more than 228 clay brick kilns represent the largest cluster of brickworks in Egypt. Burning of Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) in such kilns is the main source of air pollution in the surrounding locations. In this study, investigation of switching the fuel used in brick kilns from (HFO) to Natural Gas (NG) is carried out and the pollution loads are assessed in both cases. In addition, two Gaussian dispersion plume models are employed to estimate the concentration of primary pollutants; PM, SO, and NO at seven locations in the vicinity of Arab Abu Saed to determine the most adversely affected locations. Statistical analysis is applied to evaluate the correlation and conformity of the results of both models. Results show that using of NG leads to a significant reduction of pollution loads of PM, SO and NO reaches 96%, 72%, and 24% respectively. In addition, the reduction of naturally occurring radionuclides in air is analyzed. Activity concentrations of Ra-226, Th-232 and K-40 in Bq/l for HFO were measured using HPGe detector for six HFO samples. Exposure due to air submersion of naturally occurring radionuclides in the study area leads to annual equivalent dose ranged between 2.16 mSv/y (received by Uterus) and 14 mSv/y (received by skin), and average effective dose 2.65 mSv/y which represent valuable exposure.
位于吉萨省的阿拉伯阿布萨德地区，南至开罗，拥有超过 228 个粘土砖窑，是埃及最大的砖厂集群。在这些砖窑中燃烧重质燃料油（HFO）是周边地区空气污染的主要来源。在这项研究中，我们对将砖窑使用的燃料从（HFO）切换为天然气（NG）进行了调查，并评估了两种情况下的污染负荷。此外，我们还采用了两个高斯扩散羽流模型来估算 PM、SO 和 NO 等主要污染物在阿拉伯阿布萨德附近七个地点的浓度，以确定受影响最严重的地点。统计分析用于评估两种模型结果的相关性和一致性。结果表明，使用 NG 可显著降低 PM、SO 和 NO 的污染负荷，分别达到 96%、72%和 24%。此外，还分析了空气中天然放射性核素的减少。使用 HPGe 探测器对六个 HFO 样本中的 Ra-226、Th-232 和 K-40 进行了测量，得到了 HFO 中 Bq/l 的活度浓度。由于研究区域空气中天然放射性核素的吸入，导致年当量剂量在 2.16 mSv/y（子宫接受）和 14 mSv/y（皮肤接受）之间变化，平均有效剂量为 2.65 mSv/y，这是一个有价值的暴露剂量。
