Luxembourg’s industrial history can be reconstructed using primary sources containing quantitative and qualitative industrial and environmental data, which can then be analysed and visualised digitally. This research combines current scientific knowledge and historical data to model the airborne dust concentration generated by the Belval steelworks in Esch-sur-Alzette between 1911 and 1997. The calculations are based on a model of atmospheric dispersion, using parameters such as production volumes, the presence of filter systems and meteorological data. Visualisation of the simulated data offers insights into the extent and variability of dust concentrations over time, along with the underlying reasons (e.g. wars or technical innovations ). An interdisciplinary approach allowed the integration of chemical and health perspectives, which were then embedded into a historical context. Simulations, a form of data generation widely used in engineering, open new opportunities for the creation of historical data, which can be compared with scientific research. These historical data can also be re-analysed and visualised on the basis of new and/or current perspectives. This research is a collaboration between the REMIX project (an interdisciplinary project focusing on the history of the Minett region in connection with Esch-sur-Alzette – European Capital of Culture 2022) and the interdisciplinary LuxTIME project (which attempts to build and visualise historical datasets with the aim of studying the impact of environmental changes on Belval’s population). The aim is to explore new ways of generating, validating, analysing and visualising past data through interdisciplinary collaboration, rather than to validate a model for the study of historical dust pollution. This work discusses (a) the model, (b) the parameters used, (c) the results of the dust simulation, (d) the impact on health, (e) the historical sources, and (f) the limitations of the model and the challenges involved in visualising and simulating historical data.
Dust Pollution, Environment, Data visualization, Simulation, Steel Industry, History of Luxembourg