Principal component analysis of trace elements in industrial soils

The concentrations of the elements Cr, Pb, Cd, Zn, Ni, Mn, Cu and As in soil samples from industrial areas in Serbia were studied. The complexity of the data of eight elements in fifty-nine soil samples was reduced by principal component analysis. Three significant factors, in which 78% of the total variance in the data was found, were attributed to possible pollution sources. The crude and fuel oil burning, local smelters and exhaust emissions were shown to impact heavily the soil trace element profile, whereas no distinct soil type factor was observed. This approach, evidencing spatial relationship, enabled a differentiation between the soil samples originating from different areas.