Help & Method
PlumeUK is a screening tool for planning, awareness, training and scenario modelling.
This tool provides indicative screening-level modelling only. It must not be used for emergency response, evacuation decisions, public warning or life-safety critical purposes.
Workflow
- Geocode the location (postcode, coordinates or place name).
- Retrieve weather conditions from the WeatherService abstraction.
- Derive the downwind bearing as wind direction + 180°.
- Compute the indicative plume length, width and zone geometry.
- Intersect the plume with the sample receptor dataset.
- Estimate population and score confidence, then export the report.
Screening algorithm
baseDistanceKm = sqrt(quantityKg) * toxicityFactor * 0.15 * releaseTypeFactor distanceAdjusted = baseDistanceKm / sqrt(windSpeed) plumeWidthKm = plumeLengthKm * 0.35 * densityWidening(relativeDensity) Zones (fraction of plume length): Red 0 – 25% Amber 25 – 60% Green 60 – 100%
No scientific accuracy is claimed. Terrain, buildings, atmospheric stability, buoyancy, deposition and time-varying wind are all ignored.
Confidence scoring
Score = 100 minus penalties: unknown chemical −40, missing quantity −40, mock meteorology −20, unrecognised location −15. Bands: High ≥ 70, Medium ≥ 45, otherwise Low.
Embedded chemical database
| Name | CAS | Hazard type | Rel. density | Toxicity factor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chlorine | 7782-50-5 | Toxic Gas | 2.5 | 10 |
| Ammonia | 7664-41-7 | Toxic Gas | 0.6 | 8 |
| Hydrogen Sulphide | 7783-06-4 | Toxic Flammable Gas | 1.19 | 9 |
| Sulphur Dioxide | 7446-09-5 | Toxic Gas | 2.26 | 7.5 |
| LPG | 68476-85-7 | Flammable Liquefied Gas | 1.8 | 4 |
| Propane | 74-98-6 | Flammable Liquefied Gas | 1.55 | 3.5 |
| Butane | 106-97-8 | Flammable Liquefied Gas | 2 | 3.2 |
| Benzene | 71-43-2 | Toxic Flammable Liquid | 2.7 | 6 |
| Ethylene Oxide | 75-21-8 | Toxic Flammable Gas | 1.52 | 9.5 |
| Nitric Acid | 7697-37-2 | Corrosive Oxidiser | 2.17 | 5.5 |
Realistic placeholder values only — not a regulatory dataset.
Meteorology providers
- Active: Mock UK climatology (deterministic, offline)
- Planned: Copernicus ERA5 reanalysis
- Planned: MIDAS Open surface wind observations
- Planned: Met Office DataHub forecast
Planned integrations (not implemented)
Copernicus ERA5 reanalysis
Historical hourly meteorology for retrospective scenarios
MIDAS Open wind data
UK surface station wind observations
Met Office DataHub
Operational forecast meteorology
PubChem API
Authoritative chemical identity and physical properties
UK COMAH site database
Major hazard establishment inventory
Environment Agency Pollution Inventory
Historic release quantities and site emissions
FLEXPART dispersion engine
Replacement for the indicative cone with real dispersion physics
AI incident briefing generator
Narrative briefing drafted from scenario outputs