Abstract
Nine metals including Al, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn were analysed from sediment samples collected from 29 stations since 2007 from Bahraini waters. Within this study, it was investigated whether concentrations of these determinants are at concentrations above internationally established Assessment Criteria (AC). The majority of sites were considered not to pose a toxicological risk in terms of metal contamination. Where breaches occurred, they were mainly from historic samples related to Cr, Cu and Ni contamination. A trend assessment revealed that out of 59 significant trends, 36 were downwards and 23 upwards, indicating that some determinants like Al, Zn and Ni are improving strongly across some sites, whilst areas associated with industrial activity still see some increasing trends for Al, Cd, Pb and Zn.
Highlights
The Kingdom of Bahrain, located in the south-western Arabian Gulf (Fig. 1), has undergone major economic, social and industrial development since the 1970s (Elghonaimy & Mohammed, 2019; Naser, 2015)
More than 99% of all Cd concentrations were below the Background Assessment Concentrations (BACs)
The metal concentrations in sediments observed in this study were satisfactory
Summary
The Kingdom of Bahrain, located in the south-western Arabian Gulf (Fig. 1), has undergone major economic, social and industrial development since the 1970s (Elghonaimy & Mohammed, 2019; Naser, 2015). A variety of contaminants have been reported in biota, sediment and water samples, including petroleum hydrocarbons, organohalogens, metals and nutrients from sewage treatment plants (Bersuder et al, 2020; de Mora et al, 2010; Naser, 2011; Tolosa et al, 2005) These contaminant inputs pose a risk to Bahrain’s marine habitats, which serve as a feeding and nursery ground for many ecologically and economically important species like dugongs and green turtles (Abdulqader, 1999; Zainal et al, 2007; Moore & Peirce, 2013; Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage & Supreme Council for Environment, 2017)
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