Abstract
Based on data obtained from the U.S. Public Health Service National Air Sampling Network for the years 1957–1961, factor analysis techniques were used to produce a pollution model for 30 U.S. cities. Orthogonal models obtained from Varimax and Quartimax solutions and an oblique solution (Oblimax) were similar. The first four principal factors were tentatively assigned to pollution from (I) heavy industry, (II) automobiles, (III) fuel burning, and (IV) petroleum refining on the basis of their chemical composition. These four factors account for about 70 per cent of the variance while another 20 per cent appears to be due to widespread use of plating materials. Regression of the derived factors (factor scores) on the 30 sampling locations indicates general agreement with the known character of the sites and with other studies of individual pollution components.
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