Identification of Contamination Sources of an Urban Grown Vegetable Using Factor and Cluster Analyses

Abstract

Receptor models, Principal Component Factor Analysis (PCFA) and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) were used to determine the number and nature of sources involved in the contamination of vegetables Amaranthus Spinosus (Linn Species) grown on swampy plots in an urban town of Ile-Ife, southwest Nigeria. The data set from the elemental characterization of the vegetable samples, earlier reported, was best described by two sources: motor vehicle and entrained road dust/soil, grouped as a source. These analyses in addition to the results of enrichment factor and inter-elemental correlation analyses provide information on the source types impacting the receptors- vegetables. The need for legislative intervention in the prohibition of growing food crops especially vegetables in urban centres is recommended.