Source apportionment with Receptor Models: needs, trends and prospects

Receptor models use multivariate analysis to estimate sources of pollutants on the basis of the mixture of chemicals measured at the receptor. During the past decade the number of peer-reviewed scientific papers including receptor modelling tripled. Moreover, they have been extensively used in the identification of pollution sources. However, the reliability of receptor models depends on appropriate data collection, in term of data capture and kind of chemical species. There is a need of establishing the correspondence between factors and sources.

Further improvements in the performance of Receptor Models are expected from the application of advanced tools which make it possible to combine chemical data with meteorological data and trajectory analysis. More effort should be done to extend the range of the chemical species used as explanatory variables (e.g. VOCs, inorganic gases, organic makers etc.). Receptor Models have also good prospects in the study of the impact of pollutants on health and related risk assessment.