Correlation of different pollution criteria in the assessment of metal sediment pollution

Abstract

In this article an assessment of the sediment metal pollution (cadmium, copper, chromium, lead, nickel, zinc) in the Veliki Backi canal (Serbia) was carried out using pseudo-total metal content, contamination factor (CF), pollution load index (PLI) and enrichment factor (EF). The study also encompassed pore-water metal concentrations and an assessment of sediment pollution based on the analysis of simultaneously extracted metals (SEM), acid volatile sulphides (AVS) and the sequential extraction procedure. The concentrations of metals are likely to result in harmful effects based on the comparison with sediment quality guidelines (Dutch, Canadian, US EPA - United States Environmental Protection Agency). The ratio of simultaneously extracted metals and volatile acid sulphides was found to be greater than 1 in only one location, which is already recognized as a place of high risk based on the criteria applied. Other samples had Σ[SEM]/[AVS] < 1, despite their high risk classification based on the applied criteria. According to the sequential extraction procedure, zinc and nickel exhibit high risk in most samples, whereas other metals show low and medium risk. The CF values for Cr, Cu and Zn were > 6 in most samples, which denotes very high contamination by these metals. The PLI values indicated moderate and high pollution. The EF values for all metals studied except for Cd in some cases were >1.5, suggesting anthropogenic impact. The obtained results will be invaluable for future activities regarding sediment monitoring and will facilitate the selection of appropriate criteria when evaluating sediment quality.

Keywords:

• Metals
• sediment
• contamination criteria
• sequential extraction procedure

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the financial support of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Serbia (Grant Nos. III43005 and TR37004).