A large eddy simulation (LES) coupled with a Lagrangian stochastic model has been applied to the study of droplet dispersion in a turbulent boundary layer. Droplets are tracked in a Lagrangian way. The velocity of the fluid particle along the droplet trajectory is considered to have a large-scale part and a small-scale part given by a modified three-dimensional Langevin model using the filtered subgrid scale (SGS) statistics. An appropriate Lagrangian correlation timescale is considered in order to include the influences of gravity and inertia. Two-way coupling is also taken into account. The interdroplet collision has been introduced as the main mechanism of secondary breakup. A stochastic model for breakup has been generalized for coalescence simulation, thereby two phenomena, coalescence and breakup are simulated in the framework of a single stochastic model. The parameters of this model, selectively for coalescence and for breakup, are computed dynamically by relating them to the local resolved properties of the dispersed phase compared to the main fluid. The model is validated by comparison with an agglomeration model and with experimental results on secondary breakup. The LES coupled with Lagrangian particle tracking and the model for droplet coalescence and breakup is applied to the study of the atmospheric dispersion of wet cooling tower plumes. The simulations are done for different droplet size distributions and volume fractions. We focused on the influence of these parameters on mean concentration, concentration variance and mass flux profiles. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.