Abstract
Two methods for determining the mobility or availability of sediment metal contents have been applied to samples drawn from a shallow polluted creek, and the relative merits of the two procedures have been critically assessed. ‘Labile’ contents, at different system pH, were evaluated by measuring metal ion transfer to several types of cation exchange resins. Metal ion release into different chemical environments was measured through analysis of chemical extract fractions, using differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry. Less than a fifth of the total zinc, a tenth of the lead and virtually none of the copper content was labile at normal sediment pH, but up to three quarters of each contaminant was mobilised at pH 2 to 3. The total levels have been used to identify metal distribution patterns and pollutant scavenging areas. The availability of the metal ions, as indicated by the lability determinations, was found to vary between sampling sites and with sediment depth.
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