  Industrial activities carried out in confined spaces are characterized by a
very specific type of air pollution. The extended exposure to this kind of
pollution is often highly harmful, resulting in dramatic effects both on health
and safety aspects. The indoor industrial abatement systems, adopted to purify
the air, are typically applied to the emission points. The processed air is
subsequently emitted outside. In this study we present the experimental results
of three-stage wet scrubber systems installed in the industrial workplace of a
(i) fiberglass processing plant, where the highest exposure levels to volatile
compounds are nowadays today monitored,and of a (ii) waste-to-energy plant,
characterized by a very high particulate matter level. The adopted technology,
to be used as complementing strategy,does not require special disposal
procedures and the processed air is re-emitted in the same work environment for
the benefit of the work operators. The operation of the scrubbers network
during the working activities, in both the examined environments, has a)
reduced the level of volatile compounds by about 40% and b) maintained the
particulate matter concentration PM > 1 to a very low level. Industrial plants
are disseminated in mega-cities and represent dangerous diffuse pollution
emission sources. Remediation of highly polluted industrial plants inside our
towns, especially for the conventionally untreated emissions, is of extreme
benefit for the cities air quality.

Physics and Society