Chemometric evaluation of the heavy metals distribution in waters from the Dilovası region in Kocaeli, Turkey

► We investigated the levels of essential and trace heavy metals in waters. ► The levels of heavy metals were determined using ICP-MS. ► Correlation analysis, PCA and cluster analysis were used to classify of waters. ► About 10 water samples were classified into five groups by PCA. The main objective of this study was to test water samples collected from 10 locations in the Dilovası area (a town in the Kocaeli region of Turkey) for heavy metal contamination and to classify the heavy metal (Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, Pb and Hg) contents in water samples using chemometric methods. The heavy metals in the water samples were identified using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). To ascertain the relationship among the water samples and their possible sources, the correlation analysis, principal component analysis (PCA), and cluster analysis (CA) were used as classification techniques. About 10 water samples were classified into five groups using PCA. A very similar grouping was obtained using CA.