Supervisors: Jennifer L. Broadhurst, Johanna R. von Holdt and Cledwyn T. Mangunda

It has been approximated that seven million people die due to air pollution, globally. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has reported that 90% of people breathe in highly polluted air and approximately 91% of the world’s population live in areas where air quality is extremely poor.

The Saldanha Bay municipality consists of many different types of industries. Majority of these industries deal with the transportation of different types of metal ores through the municipality, either for export or to be used as raw materials. The result of these activities has driven communities to question the quality of air in the municipality, largely resulting from the discolouration of houses from the red iron ore dust. The focus of this study is to determine the particulate matter (PM) concentration and composition in the Saldanha Bay Municipality and to assess the potential health-related implications that arise from the exposure of metal-bearing PM.