Risk based characterization of a contaminated industrial site using multivariate and geostatistical tools

Human and ecological risk assessment requires the sources, distribution, mobility and environmental behaviour of contaminants to be investigated on a site-speci®c basis. It often deals with data sets which are relatively small and a ected by sampling gaps. In the case of a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contaminated industrial site, Kriging interpolation of spatial data and prin- cipal component analysis (PCA) proved useful for extracting additional value from the data set. Kriging was adopted for assessing the horizontal and vertical distribution and transport of PAHs in soil. PCA was applied to PAH concentration and relative abun- dance in soil samples and interpreted on the basis of the PAH physico-chemical and bio-degradation properties. It revealed corre- lation with the products of a neighbouring factory and the weathering of the lighter PAHs. The geo- and multivariate statistical results were coupled with the previous hydrogeological characterisation of the site to develop a site-conceptual model for use in the exposure scenario modelling for risk assessment.