Table 2 Sensitivity of the model to changes in model input parameters: average mercury concentration over the whole modelled area, percentage change in concentration (compared with best estimate (model output B)), correlation between modelled mercury concentrations (compared with best estimate (model output B)), estimate of the population exposed to >10 ng/m3 mercury, and population‐weighted average exposure for those classified as exposed to >10 ng/m3 mercury.
| Model parameters* | Average mercury (ng/m3) | Percentage change from model B | Correlation with model B† | Population exposed >10 ng/m3 | Population‐weighted exposure‡ (ng/m3) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (B) Speke meteorological data (using Ringway TCA data) | 4.29 | Reference | Reference | 5490 | 22.75 |
| (C) Ringway meteorological data | 4.31 | +0.5 | 0.940 | 10 190 | 19.48 |
| (D) Crosby meteorological data | 3.65 | −14.9 | 0.986 | 3152 | 26.29 |
| (E) Speke meteorological data (using Crosby TCA data) | 4.26 | −0.7 | 1.000 | 5544 | 22.56 |
| (F) Speke meteorological data; no topography data | 4.29 | +/−0.0 | 0.996 | 4773 | 24.07 |
| (G) Speke meteorological data; release temperature for chlor alkali plant 10.2°C | 4.53 | +5.9 | 0.998 | 6329 | 23.81 |
| (H) Speke meteorological data; release temperature for chlor alkali plant 25°C | 3.98 | −7.2 | 0.999 | 4052 | 23.07 |
| (I) Speke meteorological data; surface roughness 0.2 m | 4.64 | +8.2 | 0.995 | 7472 | 20.22 |
| (J) Speke meteorological data; surface roughness 1.0 m | 3.97 | −7.5 | 0.995 | 4152 | 25.33 |
| (K) Speke meteorological data; deposition velocity 0.47 cm/s | 4.29 | +/−0.0 | 1.000 | 5556 | 22.60 |
TCA, total cloud amount.
Model outputs B–F are also shown in fig 1.
*All models used emissions data and meteorological data for 2000.
†Two‐tailed p values all <0.01.
‡Population‐weighted average exposure for those classified as exposed to >10 ng/m3 mercury.