RT Journal Article
T1 A novel application of mobile low-cost sensors for atmospheric particulate matter monitoring in open-pit mines
A1 Zafra Pérez, Adrián
A1 Boente López, Carlos
A1 Sánchez de la Campa Verdona, Ana María
A1 Gómez Galán, Juan Antonio
A1 Rosa Díaz, Jesús de la
AB Open-pit mines are an important source of atmospheric particulate matter (PM) owing to the constant earth-moving and crushing. The well-known association between high PM concentrations and adverse health effects has made the permanent control of fugitive emissions from mines a public health concern. Nevertheless, the large size of these mines renders this task difficult and expensive to perform with regulatory apparatuses; subsequently, the mining industry requires other technologies with a suitable quality/price ratio. In this study, a novel methodology for the space–time monitoring of PM concentrations in open-pit mines using mobile low-cost sensors (LCSs) is proposed. The study was carried out in the renowned mine of Riotinto for three years (2019–2021). It included a detailed calibration of the mobile LCSs that fulfilled the European/US standards. Time tendency diagrams determined the maximum PM concentrations emitted (≈1600 μg PM10/m3) and also the seasonal variations. The spatial distribution also revealed the main sources of PM within the mine, which were the mining pit, mineral processing plant, spoil heap of fine materials, and main mining tracks. Finally, the integration of these data together with meteorological information allowed the discovery of the routes of escape of fugitive emissions from the mine toward nearby populations: toward W-SW, with concentrations primarily ranging between 50–100 μg PM10/m3 and 20–50 μg PM2.5/m3. The results of this research are important as mobile LCSs seem to solve the issue of fugitive emissions monitoring in mining ambiances and will aid the exploitations to become more environmentally friendly.
PB Elsevier
SN 2352-1864
YR 2022
FD 2022-12-05
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10272/21415
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10272/21415
LA eng
NO Zafra-Pérez, A., Boente, C., de la Campa, A. S., Gómez-Galán, J. A., & de la Rosa, J. D. (2023). A novel application of mobile low-cost sensors for atmospheric particulate matter monitoring in open-pit mines. In Environmental Technology & Innovation (Vol. 29, p. 102974). Elsevier BV. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eti.2022.102974
NO The authors are grateful to Atalaya Mining Company for giving the permission to carry out this research on their facilities and for their active support. Carlos Boente obtained a post-doctoral contract within the program PAIDI 2020 (Ref 707 DOC 01097) and the PY18-2332 Project, co-financed by the Junta de Andalucía (Andalusian Government), Spain and the EU. Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Huelva/CBUA, Spain.
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Huelva
RD 30 may 2026