Contamination and health risk assessment of surface sediments along Ras Abu Ali Island, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The coastline of the Arabian Gulf attracts people throughout the year for tourism and fishing activities. The present work aimed to document the contamination and human health assessment of heavy metals (HMs) in 34 surface sediment samples collected along Ras Abu Ali coastline, Saudi Arabia. Enrichment factor (EF), contamination factor (CF), and sediment quality guideline (SQG) were calculated to estimate the sediment contamination, while the hazard index (HI), cancer risk (CR), and total lifetime cancer risk (LCR) were determined for human health assessment via ingestion and dermal contact pathways on both adults and children. The averages of the HMs (μg/g dry weight) were in the following order: Fe (4808) > Ni (13.00) > Zn (6.89) > Cr (7.86) > V (6.67) > Cu (4.14) > Pb (3.50) > As (2.47) > Co (1.43). Results of EF indicated minor enrichment with Ni, Pb, and As, and no enrichment with the remaining HMs. Based on CF, the coastal sediments of Ras Abu Ali showed low contamination with HMs. Reported values of As, Cr, Cu, Pb, and Zn were lower than the ISQG-Low values, however, 4 samples of Ni reported values between the ISQG-Low and ISQG-High values, indicating some anthropogenic effects with Ni. HI values were higher among children in comparison to adults, suggesting that children were at higher risk of non-carcinogenic exposure than adults. LCR values indicated that no significant health hazards for people inhabited the study area from the carcinogenic Pb, Cr, and As.