Metals Pollution in Marine Sediments of the United Arab Emirates Creeks Along the Arabian Gulf Shoreline

Abstract

The study of trace metals in the marine environment of the United Arab Emirates is very important since coastal regions are presently experiencing a phenomenal rate of growth in terms of industrial and urban development. Special emphasis is given to enclosed areas and creeks due to the vastness of these parts of the country’s waters, their richness in marine life. and the difficulty of combating pollution that may reach these areas. These creeks are used as harbors for hundreds of fishers and cargo boats. They receive intermittent and variable amounts of municipal wastewaters from many outlets in addition to various pollutants from many other wooden huts. dry docking companies, petrol filling stations, repair and storage yeards. The primary objective of this paper was to identify pollution levels and distributions of several trace metals in five different creeks sediments of the United Arab Emirates along the Arabian Gulf. MATERIALS AND METHODS Sediment samples were collected from five different creeks along the Arabian Gulf Coast of the United Arab Emirates using a Hydro-Bios grap sampler (Fig. 1). Grain size distributions were done using a standard set of stainless steel sieves and electric shaker. Trace metals analyses were done by treating the sample with hydrogen peroxide and diluted hydrochloric acid (Agemian. Chau 1976; Van Valian , Morse 1982). Measurements were carried out in duplicate by direct aspiration into the appropriate flame of a GBC model 906 atomic absorption spectrophotometr equipped with a simultaneous background corrector. autosampler and recorder. Duplicates, spikes and blanks were treated identically using the same reagents to test for precision, accuracy, and reagent’s purity in the analytical procedure. respectively. Percentage recovery for spiked samples ranged from 96 to 105 %. while precision agreed within 5 %.