CHAPTER 5

Toxic Release
and
Dispersion Models
 Chapter Information

Introduction
Neutrally Buoyant Dispersion Models
Chapter Outline
Pasquill-Gifford Model
Toxic Effect Criteria
Release Mitigation

After completing this chapter, students

should be able to do the following:
Identify release incident
Instructional
Develop source model to describe how
Learning Objectives
materials are released and rate of release
Estimate downwind concentrations of
toxic material using dispersion model
Predict impact/effect due to the released
of materials
2
 Introduction Dispersion Model
Dispersion models describe the airborne transport of toxic materials
away from the accident site and into the plant and community.
After a release, the airborne toxic is carried away by the wind in a
characteristic plume or a puff

The maximum concentration of toxic material occurs at the release

point (which may not be at ground level).
Concentrations downwind are less, due to turbulent mixing and
dispersion of the toxic substance with air.
3
 Introduction

Figure 1 Characteristic plume formed by a continuous release of material.

4
 Introduction

Figure 2 Puff formed by near instantaneous release of material.

5
 Factors Influencing Dispersion
Parameters affecting atmospheric dispersion:
Wind speed
As the wind speed increases, the plume becomes longer and
narrower
Atmospheric stability
During the day the air temperature decreases rapidly with the
height, encouraging vertical motions . Oppositely, at night the air
temperature decrease is less
Classified to three stability classes: unstable, neutral, stable
Unstable the sun heats the ground faster than the heat can
be removed so that the air temperature near the ground is
higher than the temperature at higher elevation
Neutral the air above the ground warms and the wind
speed increases
Stable the sun cannot heat the ground as fast as the ground
cools; the air of higher density is below air of lower density

6
 Factors Influencing Dispersion
Parameters affecting atmospheric dispersion:
Ground conditions (buildings, water, trees)
Affect the mechanical mixing at the surface and the wind
profile with height
Trees and buildings increase mixing while lakes and open areas
decrease mixing
Height of release above ground level
As the release height increases, the ground level concentrations
are reduced since the plume must disperse a greater distance
vertically
Momentum and buoyancy of initial material released
Change the effective height of the release.
The momentum of a high-velocity jet will carry the gas higher
than the point of release, resulting much higher effective
release height.

7
 Effect of Ground Conditions

Figure 4 Effect of ground conditions on vertical wind gradient.

 Effect of Release Height

Figure 5 Increased release height decreases the ground

concentration.
9
 Effect of Momentum and Buoyancy

Figure 6 The initial acceleration and buoyancy of the released

material affects the plume character. The dispersion models
discussed in this chapter represent only ambient turbulence.
10
 Pasquill-Gifford Models

Cases 1 10 all depend on the availability

of Kj
Kj changes with position, time, wind velocity,
and weather conditions. It is difficult to get
the experimental value of Kj
Alternative solution was suggested by
Sutton by using a dispersion coefficient

C 2 ut 2n
21
x
2
Similar expressions given for y and z
11
 Pasquill-Gifford Models

Values for the are a function of atmospheric

conditions and the distance downwind from the
release
The atmospheric conditions are classified
according to six different stability classes as
shown in Table 5-1.
The y and z for continuous source are given
in Table 5-2 or alternatively available in Figure
5-10 and 5-11.
x can be assumed as equal to y

12
 Pasquill-Gifford Models
Table 5-1 Atmospheric Stability Classes for Use with the Pasquill-
Gifford Dispersion Model (Crowl & Louvar, pg 197)

Wind Day radiation intensity Night cloud cover

speed Calm &
(m/s) Strong Medium Slight Cloudy
clear
<2 A AB B F F

23 AB B C E E

35 B BC C D E

56 C CD D D D

>6 C D C D D

A : Extremely unstable D : Neutrally stable

B : Moderately unstable E : Slightly stable
C : Slightly unstable F : Moderately stable
13
Pasquill-Gifford Models

(Crowl & Louvar, pg 198)

14
 Pasquill-Gifford Models
The y and z for a puff release are given in Table 5-3 (Crowl &
Louvar, pg 199).

15
 Pasquill-Gifford Models

Limitations to Pasquill-Gifford Model or Gaussian dispersion

Applies only to neutrally buoyant dispersion of gases in

which the turbulent mixing is the dominant feature of the

dispersion.
Typically valid for a distance of 0.1-10 km from the

release point.
The predicted concentrations are time average.
It is possible for instantaneous local concentrations to
exceed the average values predicted and may vary as
much as a factor of 2 compared to Gaussian models
The models presented here assumed 10-minute time
average

16
 Pasquill-Gifford Models
Case 11: Puff with instantaneous point source at ground level,
coordinates fixed at release point, constant wind only in x direction
with constant velocity u
Identical to case 7
*
1 x ut
2
y 2 z 2
C x, y , z , t
Q
m
exp 2 2
2 x y z 2 x y z
3/ 2

Ground level concentration is given at z = 0
*
1 x ut
2
y 2
C x, y,0, t
Q m
exp 2
2 x y z 2 x y
3/ 2

Ground level concentration along the x-axis, y = z = 0
* 1 x ut
2

C x,0,0, t
Q m
exp
2 x y z 2 x
3/ 2

17
 Pasquill-Gifford Models
Case 11

The center of the cloud is found at coordinates (ut,0,0)

Qm*
C ut ,0,0, t
2 x y z
3/ 2

The total integrated dose received by individual

standing at ground level (fixed coordinates)
Qm* 1 y2
Dtid x, y,0 exp
x y u 2
2
y

The total integrated dose along the x axis on the ground

Qm*
Dtid x,0,0
x y u
18
 Pasquill-Gifford Models
Case 12: Plume with continuous steady-state source at ground
level and wind moving in x direction at constant velocity u
Identical to case 9
1 y2 2
C x, y, z
Qm z
exp 2 2
x y u 2 y z

Ground-level concentration, z = 0
y
2

C x, y,0
Qm 1
exp
x y u 2 y

Concentration along the centerline of the plume directly
downwind , y = z = 0

C x,0,0
Qm
x y u

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 Pasquill-Gifford Models
Case 13: Plume with Continuous steady-state source at height
Hr above ground level and wind moving in x direction at
constant velocity u

Identical to case 10
1 y

2

C x, y , z
Qm
exp
2 y z u
2 y

1zH
2
1zH
2

exp r
exp r


2 z 2 z

Ground level concentration, z = 0

2
1 y 1 Hr
2

C x, y,0
Qm
exp
y z u 2 y 2 z


20
 Pasquill-Gifford Models
Case 13

Ground level centerline concentration, y = z = 0

1H
2

C x,0,0 exp r
Qm

y z u 2 z

Maximum ground level concentration along the x-axis

2Qm z
C
max
e u H r2
y
The distance downwind at which the max ground level
occurs
Hr
z
2
21
 Pasquill-Gifford Models
Case 14: Puff with instantaneous point source at height Hr
above ground level and a coordinate system on the ground that
moves with the puff

The center of the puff is found at x = u t.

* 1 y
2

C x, y , z , t
Q m
exp
2 3 / 2 x y z 2
y
1zH
2
1zH
2

exp r
exp r


2 z 2 z

Ground level concentration, z = 0

* 1 y
2

2
C x, y,0, t
Q
m
exp 1 Hr
2 3 / 2 x y z 2
y

2 z


22
 Pasquill-Gifford Models
Case 14

Ground level centerline concentration, y = z = 0

* 1H
2

C x,0,0, t
Q m
exp r
2 3 / 2 x y z 2 z

The total integrated dose at ground level

* 2
1 y 1 H r
2
Dtid x, y,0
Qm
exp
y z u
2 y 2 z

23
 Pasquill-Gifford Models
Case 15: Puff with instantaneous point source at height Hr
above ground level and a coordinate system fixed on the ground
at the release point
The center of the puff is found at x = u t.
* 1 y
2

C x, y , z , t
Q m
exp
2 3 / 2 x y z 2 y



1zH
2
1zH
2
1 x ut 2
exp r
exp r
exp

2 z 2 z 2 x

Ground level concentration, z = 0

2 2 1 x ut 2
1 y 1 H r
*
C x, y,0, t
Q m
exp exp
2 3 / 2 x y z 2 2
2 x
y z
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 Pasquill-Gifford Models
Case 15

Ground level centerline concentration, y = z = 0

Qm* 1H
2
1 x ut 2
C x,0,0, t exp r exp
2 3 / 2 x y z 2 z 2 x

25
 Example

On an overcast day, a stack with an effective height of 60 meters

is releasing sulfur dioxide at the rate of 80 grams per second.
The wind speed is 6 meters per second.

Determine

a. The mean concentration of SO2 on the ground 500 meters

downwind.

b. The mean concentration on the ground 500 meters downwind

and 50 meters crosswind.

c. The location and value of the maximum mean concentration on

ground level directly downwind.
 Solution

a. This is a continuous release. The ground concentration directly

downwind is:
1H
2

C x,0,0
Qm
exp r
y z u 2 z

From Table 2, the stability class is D. the dispersion coefficients are

obtained from Figures 10 and 11. The resulting values are y = 36
meters and z = 18.5 meters. Substituting into the above equation

1 60 m 2
C 500 m,0,0
80 gm s
exp
3.1436 m18.5 m6 m s 2 18.5 m
3.31 10 5 gm m 3
 Solution

b. The mean concentration 50 meters crosswind is found using the

below equation and setting y = 50. The results from part a are
applied directly,

1 y 2
C 500 m,50 m,0 C 500 m,0,0 exp
2 y


2

5

3.3110 gm m exp
3 1 50 m

2 36 m
1.26 10 5 gm m3
 Solution

c. The location of the maximum concentration is found by:

Hr 60 m
z 42.4 m
2 2

From Figure 11, the dispersion coefficient has this value at x =

1500 m. At x = 1500 m, from Figure 10, y = 100 m. The
maximum concentration is determined using Equation 52,
2Qm z
C
max
e u H r2 y

280 gm s 42.4 m
2
2.723.146 m s60 m 100 m
3.68 10 4 gm m3
 Example

Chlorine is used in a particular chemical process. A source model study

indicates that for a particular accident scenario 1.0 kg of chlorine will be
released instantaneously. The release will occur at ground level. A
residential area is 500 m away from the chlorine source. Determine
a. The time required for the centre of the cloud to reach the residential
area. Assume a wind speed of 2 m/s.
b. The maximum concentration of chlorine in the residential area.
Compare this with a TLV for chlorine of 0.5 ppm. What stability conditions
and wind speed procedures the maximum concentration?
c. Determine the distance the cloud must travel to disperse the cloud to a
maximum concentration below the TLV. Use the conditions of Part b.
d. Determine the size of the cloud, based on the TLV, at a point 5 km
directly downwind on the ground. Assume the conditions of Part b.
 Solution

a. For a distance of 500 m and a wind speed of 2 m/s, the

time required for the centre of the cloud to reach the residential
area is

x 500 m
t 250 s 4.2 min
u 2ms

This leaves very little time for emergency warning.

 Solution

b. The maximum concentration will occur at the centre of the

cloud directly downwind from the release. The concentration is:

Qm*
C ut ,0,0, t
2 3 2 x y z
The stability conditions are selected to maximize <C> in the above
equation. This requires dispersion coefficients of minimum value.
From Figures 12 and 13, this occurs under stable condition. From
Table 2, this will occur at night with a 2 - 3 m/s wind.
 Solution

Assume a slow moving cloud of 2 m/s. from Figures 12 and 13, at

500 m, y = 5.2 m and z = 2.2 m. also assume x = y.

1.0 kg 3
3
C 2.14 10 kg m
2 3.14 5.2 m 2.2 m
32 2

2140 mg m3

Assuming a pressure of 1 atm and a temperature of 298K, the

concentration in ppm is 737 ppm. This is much higher than the TLV
of 0.5 ppm. Any individuals within the immediate residential area,
and any personnel within the plant will be excessively exposed if
they are outside and downwind from the source.
 Solution

c. From Table 2 - 8, the TLV of 0.5 ppm is 1.45 mg/m or 1.4510-

6 kg/m. The concentration at the centre of the cloud is given by the

equation below. Substituting the known values,

1.0 kg
1.45 10 6 kg m 3
2 3.14 y2 z
32

y2 z 8.76 10 4 m 3

This equation is satisfied at the correct distance from the release

point. A trial and error procedure is required. The procedure is
1. Select a distance, x.
2. Determine x, y, and z using Figures 12 and 13.
3. Check if dispersion coefficients satisfy above equation.
 Solution

The procedure is continued until the equation is satisfied. This

produces the following results,

Guessed
distance (km) y z y z
1 10 3.2 3.2 10
10 80 12.0 8.07 104
11 88 13.0 1.01 105

The distance is interpolated to about 10.3 km. This is quite a

substantial distance considering that only 1.0 kg of chlorine is
released.
 Solution

d. The downwind centreline concentration is:

* 1 x ut

2

C x,0,0, t
Qm
exp
2 x y z 2 x
32

The time required for the centre of the plume to arrive is

x 5000 m
t 2500 s
u 2ms
At a downwind distance of 5 km, from Figures 12 and 13,
y x 44 m and z 8 m

Substituting the numbers provided,

1.0 kg 1 x 5000 2
1.45 10 6 kg m 3 exp
2 44 m 8 m 2 44 m
32 2
 Solution
where x has units of meters. Rearranging and combining leads to a
quadratic equation,
x 2 10000 x 2.49938 10 7 0
x 5000 82 m

The cloud is 164 meters wide at this point, based on the TLV
concentration. At 2 m/s, it will take approximately,
164 m
82 s
2ms
to pass.

An appropriate emergency procedure would be to alert residents to

stay indoors with the windows closed and ventilation off until the
cloud passes. An effort by the plant to reduce the quantity of
chlorine released is also indicated.
 Toxic Effect Criteria

The dispersion calculation are completed & hence: What

concentration is considered dangerous?
TLV-TWA is for worker exposures, and not design for
short- term exposures under emergency conditions.
Recommended method by Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is by using emergency response planning
guidelines (ERPGs) for air contaminants issued by the
American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA)
Three concentration ranges are provided as a
consequence of exposure to a specific substance:

38
 Toxic Effect Criteria

ERPG-1 is the maximum airborne concentration below which it is

believed nearly all individuals could be exposed for up to 1 hr
without experiencing effects other than mild transient adverse
health effects or perceiving a clearly defined objectionable odor.

ERPG-2 is the maximum airborne concentration below which it is

believed nearly all individuals could be exposed for up to 1 hr
without experiencing or developing irreversible or other serious
health effects or symptoms that could impair their abilities to take
protective action.

ERPG-3 is the maximum airborne concentration below which it is

believed nearly all individuals could be exposed for up to 1 hr
without experiencing or developing life-threatening health effects.

39
 Toxic Effect Criteria

Examples of ERPGs in unit ppm

ERPG-1 ERPG-2 ERPG-1

Acetaldehyde 10 200 1000
Acrolein 0.1 0.5 3
Vinyl Acetate 5 75 500

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 Realistic and Worst-Case Releases

Realistic releases represent the incident outcomes with

a high probability of occurring
Worst-case releases are those that assume almost
catastrophic failure of the process, resulting in near
instantaneous release of the entire process inventory or
release over a short period of time
The worst-case releases must be used to determine the
consequences study required by EPA Risk Management
Plan
Table 4-5 lists a number of realistic and worst-case
releases.

41
Realistic and Worst-Case Releases

42
Realistic and Worst-Case Releases

43
 Release Mitigation

The purpose of the toxic release model is to provide a tool for

performing release mitigation.
Release mitigation is defined as lessening the risk of a release
incident by acting on the source (at the point of release) either:
1. in a preventive way by reducing the likelihood of an event
which could generate a hazardous vapour cloud; or
2. in a protective way by reducing the magnitude of the release
and/or the exposure of local persons or property.
 Release Mitigation

The release mitigation design procedure is shown as below:

 Release Mitigation

Best: prevent the accident leading to the release.

In the event of an accident. Release mitigation involves -
1. Detecting the release as quickly as possible;
2. Stopping the release as quickly as possible; and
3. Invoking a mitigation procedure to reduce the impact of the
release on the surroundings.
Once a release is in vapour form, the resulting cloud is nearly
impossible to control. Thus, an emergency procedure must strive to
reduce the amount of vapour formed.
Table 4 provides additional methods and detail on release mitigation
techniques.
 Release Mitigation

Table 4 Release mitigation approaches

Major Area Examples

Inventory reduction: Less chemicals
inventoried or less in process vessels.
Chemical substitution: Substitute a less
Inherent Safety hazardous chemical for one more
hazardous.
Process attenuation: Use lower temperatures
and pressures.
Plant physical integrity: Use better selas or
materials of construction.
Process integrity: Insure proper operating
Engineering Design conditions and material purity.
Process design features for emergency
control : Emergency relief systems.
Spill containment: Dikes and spill vessels.
 Release Mitigation

Major Area Examples

Operating policies and procedures.
Training for vapor release prevention and
control.
Audits and inspections.
Management Equipment testing.
Maintenance program.
Management of modifications and changes to
prevent new hazards.
Security.
Early Vapor Detection Detection by sensors.
and Warning Detection by personnel.
 Release Mitigation

Major Area Examples

Water sprays.
Water curtains.
Steam curtains.
Countermeasures Air curtains.
Deliberate ignition of explosive cloud.
Dilution.
Foams.
On-site communications.
Emergency shutdown equipment and
procedures.
Site evacuation.
Emergency Response Safe havens.
Personal protective equipment.
Medical treatment.
On-site emergency plans, procedures,
training and drills.