Particulate Matter Assessment in the Air Based on the Heavy Metals Presence

Particulate matters are the result of various processes in the atmosphere that are part of everyday life. The chemical composition of these particles is mainly influenced by their origin. Their behavior is also dependent on meteorological conditions and other factors as well. The aim of this paper was to identify sources of particulate matters by means of statistical methods due to the presence of 17 heavy metals. The problem solving assumes the knowledge of multivariate statistical data analysis methods as principal components analysis (PCA), factor analysis (FA) and multivariate regression and vector algebra. For the application of methodology suitable software may prove appropriate.