A case study on the economic benefits of reducing emissions from the cement industry

The cement industry constitutes a major source of air pollution and its impacts have historically raised considerable public concern. In Lebanon, the town of Chekka, which is the site of several cement factories accounting for more than 60 percent of the country's cement production, air pollution has been the subject of long-lived controversy with respect to emissions and potential adverse health and environmental impacts. This paper describes an air quality assessment study conducted to shed light on the extent and nature of the impact of the cement industry on its immediate vicinity. For this purpose, field monitoring of selected air pollutants was conducted for a short period, and preliminary dispersion modeling was performed to define exposure areas. Field measurements coupled with simulation results were linked to a field survey questionnaire to assess potential health impact. The economic benefits of emission reduction of selected pollutants are also evaluated.