On the behaviour of air pollutants released from elevated stacks in the vicinity of Athens, Greece

The main features that characterise the Athens Metropolitan Area (AMA) are its geographical position in the Attic Peninsula, the complicated topography and the neighbouring industrial zone, located to the west and separated from the AMA by a hilly area. The transport of air pollutants from this zone to Athens has been the subject of a number of theoretical and experimental studies. In this paper, using the meteorological and dispersion modelling system EZM, the vertical distribution of air pollutants, released from a number of stacks of various types and characteristics, and transported over Athens, was simulated and discussed. It was found that the vertical distribution mainly depends on the physical height of the stacks.