Urban Particulate Pollution Source Apportionment: Part 1 - Definition, Methodology, and Resources

Building an effective air quality management system requires a process of continual improvement and the source apportionment techniques can contribute in a cost effective manner in improving the information required. The figure to the right presents an overview of the steps involved in conducted such a study.The process is time consuming and technically intense, but the results are scientifically robust. Three major steps involved are (a) sampling (b) chemical analysis (c) receptor modeling and the each step can be performed in multiple ways. This working paper is a follow up of SIM 10-2008, "What is PM - Composition and Science?", covering the methodology of particulate pollution source apportionment and the resources available for each of the components to conduct an experiment in the developing country cities.

Download SIM Working Paper Series No. 16

Other working papers in the series of particulate pollution source apportionment covering the topics of "what is source apportionment", "how to perform source apportionment", and "sample results from applications of source apportionment studies from Asia, Africa, and Latin America" are presented in

SIM 10-2008: What is Particulate Matter: Composition & Science
SIM 16-2009: Urban Particulate Pollution Source Apportionment (Part 1) Methodology & Resources
SIM 17-2009: Ten Frequently Asked Questions About Particulate Matter
SIM-23-2009: Urban Particulate Pollution Source Apportionment (Part 2): Applications & Policy Implications