Air pollutants which are emitted for example by industrial plants or motor vehicles are of potential danger to man and environment. For an assessment of these dangers it is important to understand how air pollutants disperse in the atmosphere and to predict the concentrations of air pollutants in the surrounding of such sources.
For radionuclides, an estimate of the cloud radiation (gamma submersion) is required in addition to the atmospheric dispersion. For the dispersion of bioaerosols like germs or pollen, special release conditions and physical effects must be considered.
Odorants are typically assessed by means of their degree of annoyance. In contrast to air pollutants it is not the mean concentration which matters but rather the excess frequency of concentration with respect to the human threshold for odor perception.
An estimation for the expected concentration of trace substances can be obtained by means of a mathematical dispersion model which describes the atmospheric transport of trace substances in a simplified manner. Because of its complexity, such a model can be handled generally only in form of a computer program.
Our main activities center in the development of such mathematical models and their implementation into computer programs. We can rely on 30 years of experience in this field. Beside these activities, we carry out research projects, for example:
In the Commission on Air Pollution Prevention (KRdL) in the VDI and DIN, we contribute to the development and revision of guidelines on air pollution control. In the environmental section CAEP of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), we take part in modelling in the context of standards and actions on air pollution control.
We were a member of the European research projects AVIATOR (aviatorproject.eu) and RAPTOR and are currently participating in the European research project OLGA (olga-project.eu) and the national research projects ChemTAL (FKZ 3719 51 203 0), ULTRAFLEB (FKZ 3720 52 201 0), and KoPilot (FKZ 3721 61 202 0). On behalf of the Federal Environment Agency, we provide technical support for the program systems AUSTAL and BESTAL.
We provide our expert knowledge and models to experts who professionally assess the effects of air pollutants, like state agencies, TÜVs (associations for technical inspection), consultants, engineering and industrial companies, and airports. We give advise in the usage and application of these models and carry out on request the dispersion calculations; however, we do not prepare formal expertises in order not to enter into competition with our clients.
Janicke Consulting is the developer of the models LASAT, AUSTAL, PLURIS, LASPORT, and LASAIR.