SOURCE APPORTIONMENT OF SELECTED HEAVY METALS IN AEROSOL SAMPLES COLLECTED FROM SEBELE, BOTSWANA

摘要

Problem statement: Bush fires and dust in the dry winter months establish moderately high background levels of aerosols. Emissions into the atmosphere by copper mines, coal mines and vehicular emissions are all possible sources of air pollution with heavy metals. Although there has been assessment and monitoring of heavy metals and their air pollution in Brazil, Europe, America and other places, there is little documentation about concentration of heavy metals in aerosols in Botswana. Approach: A total of 63 aerosol samples were collected at the Botswana College of Agriculture and were analysed for concentrations of Al, Co, Cu, Fe, Pb, Mn, Ni and Zn in filtrate using a Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (Varian SpectrAA 220 FS). Statistical receptor models were applied to investigate potential sources of the studied metals.