Application of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) for the Estimation of Source of Heavy Metal Contamination in Sediments of Xihe River, Shenyang City

Source estimation of heavy metals of Hg, Cd, Zn, Pb, Ba, Bi, Sn and Sb in Xihe River sediment was studied using PCA. The results showed that there were three principal components extracted. Hg, Zn, Bi, Sn and Sb were controlled by Componet1 explaining the sources of material, chemical and pharmacy industries, Cd and Pb controlled by Component2 explaining the sources of smelting and machinery manufacturing industries and also automobile exhaust, and Ba controlled by Component3 explaining the effect of geochemical compositions changes on in the sediments. The results indicated that industry sewage and rock weathering and erosion process were the main sources of heavy metals in the Xihe River sediment.