Ecological risk, source and preliminary assessment of metals in the surface sediments of Chabahar Bay, Oman Sea

Homira Agah; Abolfazl Saleh; Kazem Darvish Bastami; Neda Sheijooni Fumani

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.03.042

Ecological risk, source and preliminary assessment of metals in the surface sediments of Chabahar Bay, Oman Sea

Mar Pollut Bull. 2016 Jun 15;107(1):383-388. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.03.042. Epub 2016 Mar 31.

Authors

Homira Agah¹, Abolfazl Saleh¹, Kazem Darvish Bastami², Neda Sheijooni Fumani¹

Affiliations

¹ Iranian National Institute for Oceanography and Atmospheric Science (INIOAS), No. 3, Etemadzadeh St., Fatemi Ave., 1411813389 Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran.
² Iranian National Institute for Oceanography and Atmospheric Science (INIOAS), No. 3, Etemadzadeh St., Fatemi Ave., 1411813389 Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran. Electronic address: darvish_60@yahoo.com.

PMID: 27038881
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.03.042

Abstract

In this study, concentrations of Aluminum (Al), Iron (Fe), Chromium (Cr), Copper (Cu), Nickel (Ni), Vanadium (V), Zinc (Zn), Arsenic (As), Cobalt (Co) and lead (Pb) in the surface sediments from Chabahar Bay were studied to assess the degree of heavy metal pollution as a consequence of natural and anthropogenic sources. Metal contents in the sediments were observed in the order of: Al>Fe>Cr>V>Ni>Zn>Cu>>As>Pb>Co. According to enrichment factor (EF), Arsenic was higher than 1.5 at some sites, indicating anthropogenic inputs. Contents of Ni, As and Cr in the some sampling sites were higher than sediment quality guideline implying adverse impacts of these metals. Based on potential ecological risk (PER), the Chabahar Bay had low ecological risk.

Keywords: Chabahar Bay; Metals; Oman Sea; Sediment.

MeSH terms

Bays*
Environmental Monitoring
Geologic Sediments*
Metals, Heavy / analysis*
Oman
Risk Assessment
Water Pollutants, Chemical / analysis*

Substances

Metals, Heavy
Water Pollutants, Chemical