Details of South London Plume Plotter

This page should be read in conjunction with How Plume Plotter Works. It provides more details specific to the South London version of Plume Plotter.

Stack measurements

All of these are taken from [1], except the revised stack height which comes from [2]:

Emissions

The emission rates of pollutants are of two types. Both are calculated using the flow rate reported in [1], which is multiplied by the emission concentrations.

For the planned emission rates, the concentrations used are the IED limits, as stated in (e.g.) [1]. The revised oxides of nitrogen emission rate comes from [3]. Resulting (mass per second) emission rates are listed below:

PollutantEmission rate
per second
Oxides of nitrogen9.438 g
Sulphur dioxide2.861 g
Carbon monoxide2.861 g
Particulates PM10572 mg
Hydrogen chloride572 mg
Hydrogen flouride57 mg
VOCs572 mg
Ammonia572 mg
Mercury3 mg
Cadmium and thallium3 mg
Other metals29 mg
Dioxins and furans5.72 ng
Benzo(a)pyrene140 μg

The actual emission rates use the same flow rates and the annual average concentrations for 2020, as reported in the incinerator's annual report. They are listed below:

PollutantEmission rate
per second
Oxides of nitrogen7.752 g
Sulphur dioxide328 mg
Carbon monoxide269 mg
Particulates PM1016.67 mg
Hydrogen chloride305 mg
Hydrogen flouride1.69 mg
VOCs24.6 mg
Ammonia111 mg
Mercury101 μg
Cadmium and thallium56.6 μg
Other metals9.36 mg
Dioxins and furans471 pg
Benzo(a)pyrene72.5 ng

Background levels

The background levels of pollutants are taken from [1]. These are:

PollutantBackground
concentration per m3
Oxides of nitrogen30 μg
Sulphur dioxide3.5 μg
Carbon monoxide205 μg
Particulates PM1025 μg
Hydrogen chloride1 μg
Hydrogen flouride500 ng
VOCs650 ng
Ammonia3 μg
Mercury2 ng
Cadmium and thalliumN/A
Other metalsN/A
Dioxins and furans8 fg
Benzo(a)pyreneN/A

Weather data

Weather data is taken from METAR reports from a local airport: London City.

Upper air data is the latest reported by the Herstmonceux upper air station.

References

1. Air Quality and Human Health Effects Assessment: Beddington Lane ERF. Final Report RWDI # 1200304. July 2012.

2. Addendum to the Environmental Statement. February 2013.

3. Beddington Lane ERF Permit number EPR/TP3836CT, Environment Agency, July 2013.