Trace metal analysis on polluted sediments

Abstract

Sequential extraction techniques are used to determine the chemical associations of heavy metals with specific, sedimentary phases, whereby the potential, availability of toxic compounds for biological uptake may eventually be estimated. The importance of such investigations in the classification of dredged materials is rapidly increasing. As in the case for the reduction of grain size effects (see Part I of the present review) a methodological standardization appears to be presently of special import. Available methods are discussed and a simplified scheme composed of two major extraction steps (acidified hydroxylamine and hydrogen peroxide) is proposed.