MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS AND GEOCHEMICAL ASSESSMENT OF HEAVY METALS POLLUTION IN SURFACE SEDIMENT FROM EUPHRATES RIVER, IRAQSAFAA A KADHUM, SALWAN ALI ABED, SALAM HUSSEIN EWAID, ALI CHABUK, NADHIR AL-ANSARI AND ALI KAREEM JASSIMAbstract Heavy metals and physical-chemical parameters in surface sediment were collected from twelve sites in the Euphrates river, Iraq, during October, and November of 2018. The high level of Cd and Pb concentrations were recorded in Basrah city and the highest Zn concentration was found in Shamiyah city, in case the Cu level was high in Kafel city. The pollution load index (PLI) for heavy metals concentrations in surface sediment refers to the high levels of attention, suggests baseline polluted conditions for all sites river. The multivariate analysis showed a different relationship between heavy metals, TOM, and pH which was TOM play role in increasing the Zn, Pb, and Cu, and these elements were from different sources such as anthropogenic and agriculture activities. |