Determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in river water samples from the Vaal Triangle area in South Africa.

PAHs are fused ring aromatic pollutants some of which are highly carcinogenic to humans and are persistent in the environment. The objective of this study was to develop a suitable extraction method for PAHs from river water samples, identify and quantify the individual compounds. An optimized reverse solid phase extraction (SPE) method was used after conditioning the sorbent to extract and preconcentrate compounds of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in river water samples.

Characterization of PM10 samples from Vanderbijlpark in South Africa.

In this study, mass concentrations and physico-chemical characteristics of suspended particulates of aerodynamic size 10 μm (PM10) were evaluated. A dual E-Sampler which combines the light scatter and the gravimetric filter methods was used. Sampling occurred between August and December 2009.