ASSESSMENT OF HEAVY METAL POLLUTION IN SURFACE MUDDY SEDIMENTS OF LAKE URULLUS,SOUTHEASTERN MEDITERRANEAN, EGYPT

Abstract

The concentration s of certain heavy metals (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pd and Zn) in the total and labile fractions of muddy sediment samples collected from eleven sites in Lake Burullus in January 2003 were investigated in order to evaluate the pollution status of the Lake. The metal contents were determined by means of Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS) using MESS-2 certified reference material (National Research Council of Canada). The average concentrations of the heavy metals analyzed in total sediment fractions exhibited the following decreasing order: Fe > Mn > Cu > Ni > Zn > Cr > Pb > Co > Cd, while the average concentrations of the heavy metals analyzed in the labile fraction followed the order: Fe > Mn > Cu > Ni > Pb > Zn > Co > Cr > Cd. The concentrations of all studied heavy metals ranged between the Effect Range-Low (ERL) and the Effect Range-Median (ERM) for most studied locations. Metal pollution index (MPI) shows very high values for both total and labile fractions at all the examined locations. Field observation reveals that Lake Burullus received industrial, agricultural and domestic sewage, suggesting that anthropogenic input is the main source of heavy metal contamination. Health hazard calculations for the contaminated sediments exhibited a possibility ,pf health risk due to long-term exposure of the human to the polluted sediments of Lake Burullus.