TITLE:
Radiocarbon Concentration Measurements in Tree Leaves near SOCOCIM (Rufisque, Senegal), A Cement Factory
AUTHORS:
Maurice Ndeye, Hans-Arno Synal, Matar Séne
KEYWORDS:
Radiocarbon Concentration, Fossil Fuel Fraction, Tree Leaves, Cement Factory
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Air Pollution,
Vol.11 No.1,
February
11,
2022
ABSTRACT: Radiocarbon content in biogenic samples is widely used to study the variation
of atmospheric CO2 due to anthropogenic activities. A total of 20 samples
of several types of tree leaves, were analyzed for this study. Sampling was
carried out at the end of the rainy season
in 2017 from the surrounding of the SOCOCIM cement factory in Rufisque town.
Rufisque is located on the peninsula of Cape Verde, 25 km east of Dakar, where
it is the 《south
gate》 of the
agglomeration. Reference samples of five different species were collected
during the same period (2017) from a clean zone. The 14C method was
used for the determination of Δ14C values. The data show that the 14C
concentration in the studied sites was significantly lower than the clean area,
due to the release of anthropogenic CO2. To estimate the Suess
effect, the fossil fuel fraction was determined based on equations of mass
balance for CO2 concentration, stable isotopic composition of
carbon, and 14C concentration. The results show that selected
locations are affected differently according to their distance from the factory
and the wind direction.