A GIS-based national emission inventory of major VOCs and risk assessment modeling: Part I - methodology and spatial pattern of emissions

This paper presents a method for assessing and managing the South Korean atmospheric emission inventory of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) based on a geographic information system (GIS). The use of this GIS-based assessment technique makes it possible to obtain the geographical characteristics of anthropogenic emission sources, observe spatial patterns within the emission inventory, and develop a new bottom-up method for improving the spatial accuracy of emission inventories. As a case study, we estimated the emission rates of five major VOCs (benzene, ethylbenzene, styrene, toluene, and xylene) throughout South Korea for the year 2004. The spatial pattern of emissions and relative contributions of various sources showed considerable spatial variability. A comparison of estimated emissions data and observed environmental concentration revealed a reasonable degree of accuracy for the estimated values. The proposed methodologies and information provided in this study can assist in the development of environmental policy, and can be adopted internationally to obtain a more precise emission inventory.