Author(s)

ROBERTO R. ROJANO, HELI A. ARREGOCÉS, GLORIA RESTREPO

Abstract

PM₁₀ particulate material is one of the criteria pollutants with the greatest monitoring in Colombia. Daily concentrations of PM₁₀ were evaluated in an open pit coal mine (Cerrejón) located in northern Colombia, during 2012–2017. The annual mean concentration for PM₁₀ varied from 22.89 to 41.54 µg/m³. The annual averages of all sampling sites exceed the WHO guidelines for PM₁₀ (20 µg/m³). Daily PM₁₀ concentrations exceeded the WHO PM₁₀ guideline limit (50 µg/m³) for approximately 15.70% of the sampling days. PM₁₀ concentrations at all sites presented a significant correlation (r ranged from 0.40 to 0.84). These strong relationships indicate the existence of common sources of PM₁₀. A trend analysis was performed in all monitoring sites. PM₁₀ concentrations showed positive trends for four sampling sites. The results of the conditional probability function (CPF) analysis indicate that open pit mining is the main source of emissions of PM₁₀, contributing to concentrations higher than 45 µg/m³. The Cerrejón mine needs a plan to reduce particulate matter to comply with the new Colombian standards.

Keywords

PM₁₀, conditional probability function, trends, open pit mining, coal mine, Cerrejón Colombia