Abstract
The water vulnerability of the Crati river (Calabria, Italy), was assessed by applying chemometric methods on a large number of analytical parameters. This study was applied to a data set collected in the years 2015–2016, recording 30 physical–chemical and geological parameters at 25 sampling points, measured both for water and for sediments. The processing of the data by principal component analysis (PCA) allowed for highlighting the influence of the components most responsible for pollution. The accumulation of heavy metals in the water was detected only in two samples near the source of the river. On the contrary, their concentration values in the sediments exceeded the legal limit in several sites, probably due to their proximity to urban areas. In this case, high concentrations of chromium, mercury and nickel were detected both at the mouth of the river and along the valley. Lead was only detected in one sediment sample. The multivariate analysis techniques proved to be very useful to completely characterize the areas surrounding a river course and facilitate the development of a risk map to monitor health risks to the local population.
Highlights
Environmental stability is often modified by man to meet his needs, but in many cases, this behavior involves the pollution of air, water and soil with a deterioration in the quality of life
The principal component analysis (PCA) multivariate approach was applied to the data sets, considering the sampling sites as objects and the measured parameters as variables
The selected data were elaborated by principal component analysis with the aim to find the relationship between the chemical composition of the sampling sites and the different geographical locations
Summary
Environmental stability is often modified by man to meet his needs, but in many cases, this behavior involves the pollution of air, water and soil with a deterioration in the quality of life. The quality of surface waters is a useful indication of the status of a territory, reflecting the effects of human activities on natural ecosystems [1]. In order to minimize the negative impact of human activities on aquatic systems, the development of rapid and reliable systems for monitoring water quality is a research priority in this field [2]. The main target for assessing the environmental status of rivers, lakes, groundwater and coastal waters is the regular detection of water pollutants and the causes of their presence [3,4]. The absence or inadequate treatment of urban waste water causes the release of organic substances, bacteria and compounds containing nitrogen or phosphorus into sewers and, in turn, into rivers [5]
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