Atmospheric HCFC-22, HFC-125, and HFC-152a at Cape Point, South Africa

Brett Kuyper, Daniel Say, Casper Labuschagne, Timothy Lesch, Warren R. Joubert, Damien Martin, Dickon Young, M. Anwar H. Khan, Matthew Rigby, Anita L. Ganesan, Mark F. Lunt, Colin O’dowd, Alistair J. Manning, Simon O’doherty, Michael T. Davies-coleman, Dudley E. Shallcross

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

One hydrochlorofluorocarbon and two hydrofluorocarbons (HCFC-22, HFC-125, and HFC-152a) were measured in air samples at the Cape Point observatory (CPT), South Africa, during 2017. These data represent the first such atmospheric measurements of these compounds from southwestern South Africa (SWSA). Baseline atmospheric growth rates were estimated to be 8.36, 4.10, and 0.71 ppt year–1 for HCFC-22, HFC-125, and HFC-152a, respectively. The CPT measurements were combined with an inverse model to investigate emissions from SWSA. For all three halocarbons, Cape Town was found to be the dominant source within SWSA. These estimates were extrapolated, based on population statistics, to estimate emissions for the whole of South Africa. We estimate South Africa’s 2017 emissions to be 3.0 (1.6–4.4), 0.8 (0.5–1.2), and 1.1 (0.6–1.6) Gg year–1 for HCFC-22, HFC-125, and HFC-152a, respectively. For all three halocarbons, South Africa’s contribution to global emissions is small (<2.5%), but future monitoring is needed to ensure South Africa’s compliance with regulation set out by the Montreal Protocol and its Amendments.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)8967-8975
JournalEnvironmental Science and Technology
Volume53
Issue number15
Early online date28 Jun 2019
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 6 Aug 2019

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