Author(s)

Manny Mathuthu¹, Violet Patricia Dudu^1,2*, Munyaradzi Manjoro³

¹Centre for Applied Radiation, Science and Technology (CARST), North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, Mafikeng, South Africa.
²Department of Environmental Science, Bindura University of Science Education, Bindura, Zimbabwe.
³Department of Geography and Environmental Science, North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, Mafikeng, South Africa.

Source apportionment studies are useful in understanding sources of pollution and can be used in health risk assessments to evaluate the human health impacts from air pollutants. This study reviewed and analysed available source apportionment studies of air particulate in South Africa in October 2016. Searches were performed using different databases for peer reviewed articles including Google scholar, Scopus, EbscoHost, Science Direct and National Research Foundation database. Source categories were identified and these varied depending on the sites where the research was conducted (rural, urban or remote) but biomass burning dominated. A total of 35 source apportionment records were found with the majority of studies in urban areas (60%) while industrial sites had the least number of records (17.1%). The period 2011-2016 had the highest number of records while 1990-1995 had only three publicly available studies. There is limited research on source apportionment studies of air particulate in South Africa, calling for more research in this area.

Air Particulate, Source Apportionment, Air Pollution, South Africa, Source Categories

Mathuthu, M. , Dudu, V. and Manjoro, M. (2019) Source Apportionment of Air Particulates in South Africa: A Review. Atmospheric and Climate Sciences, 9, 100-113. doi: 10.4236/acs.2019.91007.