Abstract
35 surface soil samples (0–25 cm) were collected from the Danang-Hoian area, one of the rapidly developing urban areas in Vietnam, in order to study the degree of anthropogenic pollution. The samples were analyzed for their major and trace metals (Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn, Al, Fe and Mn), organic carbon and soil pH. Factor analysis was applied to classify the sources of trace elements and distinguish the natural background and anthropogenic anomalies. Three-factor model accounted for 74.3% of the total data variance. The first component explains the pedogenic processes which mainly controls the elements Co, Cr, Ni, Al, Fe and Mn. The second component contains Cu and Zn which mainly relates to the agricultural activities and the industrial as well as domestic waste disposal. The third component explains the correlation among Cd, Pb, TOC and pH which are mainly associated with domestic and industrial pollutants.
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