Zafra-Pérez Adrián, Boente Carlos, García-Díaz Manuel, Gómez-Galán Juan Antonio, de la Campa Ana Sánchez, de la Rosa Jesús D
CIQSO-Center for Research in Sustainable Chemistry, Associate Unit CSIC-University of Huelva "Atmospheric Pollution", Campus El Carmen s/n, 21007 Huelva, Spain.
Departamento de Ingeniería Geológica y Minera, E.T.S.I. Minas y Energía de Madrid, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, C/ Ríos Rosas 21, Madrid, 28003, Spain.
Sci Total Environ. 2023 Dec 15;904:166743. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166743. Epub 2023 Sep 1.
Mining is an economic activity that entails the production and displacement of significant amounts of atmospheric particulate matter (PM) during operations involving intense earthcrushing or earthmoving. As high concentrations of PM may have adverse effects on human health, it is necessary to monitor and control the fugitive emissions of this pollutant. This paper presents an innovative methodology for the online monitoring of PM concentrations in air using a low-cost sensor (LCS, <300 USD) onboard an unmanned aerial vehicle. After comprehensive calibration, the LCS was horizontally flown over seven different areas of the large Riotinto copper mine (Huelva, Spain) at different heights to study the PM distribution at different longitudes and altitudes. The flights covered areas of zero activity, intense mining, drilling, ore loading, waste discharge, open stockpiling, and mineral processing. In the zero-activity area, the resuspension of PM was very low, with a weak wind speed (3.6 m/s). In the intense-mining area, unhealthy concentrations of PM (>51 μgPM/m) could be released, and the PM can reach surrounding populations through long-distance transport driven by several processes being performed simultaneously. Strong dilution was also observed at high altitudes (> 50 m). Mean concentrations were found to be 22-89 μgPM/m, with peaks ranging from 86 to 284 μgPM/m. This study demonstrates the potential applicability of airborne LCSs in the high-resolution online monitoring of PM in mining, thus supporting environmental managers during decision-making against fugitive emissions in a cost-effective manner.
采矿是一种经济活动，在涉及强力碎土或土方作业的过程中会产生并排放大量大气颗粒物（PM）。由于高浓度的PM可能对人类健康产生不利影响，因此有必要监测和控制这种污染物的无组织排放。本文提出了一种创新方法，利用无人机搭载的低成本传感器（LCS，<300美元）对空气中的PM浓度进行在线监测。经过全面校准后，LCS在西班牙韦尔瓦省大型力拓铜矿的七个不同区域上空，以不同高度水平飞行，以研究不同经度和高度的PM分布情况。飞行覆盖了零活动区、高强度采矿区、钻探区、矿石装载区、废物排放区、露天堆放区和矿物加工区。在零活动区，PM的再悬浮非常低，风速较弱（3.6米/秒）。在高强度采矿区，可能会释放出不健康浓度的PM（>51μgPM/m），并且通过多个同时进行的过程驱动的长距离传输，PM可以到达周围人群。在高海拔（>50米）处也观察到了强烈的稀释现象。平均浓度为22 - 89μgPM/m，峰值范围为86至284μgPM/m。本研究证明了机载LCS在采矿中PM高分辨率在线监测中的潜在适用性，从而以具有成本效益的方式在针对无组织排放的决策过程中为环境管理者提供支持。
