Uncontrolled waste fires pose a significant environmental and human health risk due to the emission and dispersion of hazardous gases and particulate matter. This study develops a receptor-oriented methodology for screening environmental risk based on human and environmental exposure to air pollutants released during waste storage facility fires. The approach combines Gaussian plume modelling (Pasquill stability classes) with a comparison of predicted pollutant concentrations against reference values established by Polish legislation, the US EPA, OSHA, and NDS standards. The methodology was applied to a case study involving the uncontrolled burning of waste from municipal waste treatment. For a waste mass of 14,000 kg, a fire duration of 3.5 h, and defined meteorological scenarios, concentration fields were modelled for selected pollutants, including PM10 and PM2.5, at receptor points and in the nearest residential area located approximately 700 m from the fire site. Under the most unfavourable analysed conditions (stability class 6, wind speed 1 m/s, southerly wind), the predicted concentrations at residential receptors remained below the applicable reference values. The results indicate that the proposed modelling framework can provide a rapid screening tool for environmental risk assessment following uncontrolled waste fires, particularly when direct emission or air-quality measurements are unavailable.

The risk arising from the uncontrolled burning of waste is significant given the spatial conditions and the exposure to human health. The environmental risk associated with the emission of harmful gases and particulates into the air as a result of uncontrolled waste burning is the subject of an analysis of the legal consequences of the incident. In order to determine the risks involved, it is necessary to analyse the volume of emissions, the qualitative composition of these emissions, the range of pollutant dispersion during the event, and the level of human exposure in relation to the distribution of the pollutants present. As part of this study, the authors have undertaken work to address a research gap involving the development of a methodology for assessing environmental risk based on an analysis of the degree of exposure of people and the environment to air emissions from a waste storage facility fire. The resulting risk is assessed using analytical methods based on mathematical modelling of pollutant dispersion using the Gaussian “plume” model (Model Pasquilla) using a computer programme called Operat FB and analysing the reference levels set by the NDS (Maximum permissible concentration), EPA (The Environmental Protection Agency), OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) and under local Polish legislation. This paper presents a case study, namely the uncontrolled incineration of waste resulting from the treatment of municipal waste.