ASSESSMENT OF THE SPATIAL VARIATION AND SOURCE APPORTIONMENT OF AIR POLLUTION BASED ON CHEMOMETRIC TECHNIQUES: A CASE STUDY IN THE PENINSULAR MALAYSIA

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the spatial variation in the source of air pollution, identify the percentage contribution of each pollutant and apportion the mass contribution of each source category using chemometric techniques. Hierarchical agglomerative cluster analysis (HACA) successfully grouped the five air monitoring sites into three groups (cluster 1, 2 and 3). Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to spot out the sources of air pollution which are attributed to anthropogenic activities. Multiple linear regression (MLR) was used to develop an equation model that explains the contribution of pollutants in each cluster. However, it was observed that particulate matter (PM10) and Ozone (O3) are the most significant pollutants influencing the value of air pollutant index (API). Meanwhile, the source apportionment indicates that cluster 1 is influenced by gas and non-gas pollutants to a degree of 84%, weather condition 15% and 1% by gas and secondary pollutants. Cluster 2 is affected by gas and secondary pollutants to a tune of 87% and 13% by weather condition while cluster 3 is apportioned with 98% secondary gas and non-gas pollutants and 2% weather condition. This study reveals the usefulness of chemometric technique in modeling and reducing the cost and time of monitoring redundant stations and parameters.