Consideraciones técnicas en el diseño de un sistema de vigilancia de calidad del aire para la Zona Metropolitana de Bucaramanga

Abstract

Knowing the quality air condition we breathe is really importance because this is a factor with a strong impact on people's health and well-being. The level of air quality deterioration and its health influence is directly related to the polluting material load and characteristics emitted into the atmosphere by a certain type of source. Of these industrial attachments, those that belongs to anthropogenic origin stand out, such as stationary sources, typically associated with production and manufacturing processes, mobile sources and natural sources, which involve, among others, forest fires, volcanic activities and erosion. (IDEAM, 2016) In order to get to know the urban air pollution panorama in Colombia, in the last decades Air Quality Surveillance Systems (SVCA) have been implemented in the most populated, most developed and potentially most polluted cities. Administered by the respective regional environmental authorities, the species regulated by national and international standards (OMS) are monitored, especially the so-called criteria pollutants, and depending on the case, those pollutants considered in the scientific literature as toxic are monitored, those that affect human health and the environment. The correct field monitoring and timely monitoring of the permissible pollutant levels in the atmospheric environment, are regulated through the Resolusión No. 2254 del 2017 del Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible MADS. Based on the aforementioned regulations and the support that the SVCA offers in the Urban Environmental Management programs to determine the air quality condition, this project aims to establish the criteria to be considered in the basic design of a system of surveillance for the Zona Metropolitana de Bucaramanga. Given that the current SVCA was recently installed with modern automatic analyzer equipment and it is planned to evaluate its operation by the AMB in the future, it is appropriate to explore whether the current network architecture, as well as its coverage and the amount of stations, are spatially representative of the geographical and environmental conditions for the area. Similarly, exploring options for monitoring other air pollutants is desirable. The additional information provided by such exploration will allow us to suggest a new architecture for the monitoring system and its components. It is also intended to present the results of the work to the metropolitan area authorities in charge of air quality management, and if possible, consider them within the expansion or improvement projects of the current SVCA.