Application of multivariate statistical analysis to superficial soils around a coal burning power plant

The Thermoelectric Complex Jorge Lacerda (TCJL), located in the Santa Catarina State, Brazil, is the largest coal burning thermoelectric complex of Latin America and consists of seven power plants with a total capacity of 832 MWe. In order to estimate the contribution of the atmospheric releases from the TCJL to the elemental composition of surface soils around it, forty-five samples were collected at up to a distance of 8 km. Forty-two elements were determined by ICP-MS and ICP-AES after total acid dissolution. The technique of principal component analysis was employed to identify the major sources that contribute to surface soil composition. Additionally, a source apportioning using multiple regression on absolute principal component scores was performed in order to obtain quantitative information about the contribution of the different identified sources on the soil composition. Based on the results obtained, four sources were identified as the main contributors to the surface soil elemental composition. One of them was related to TCJL because it retains volatile elements enriched on fly ash and released from powerhouse stacks