Mass burden and estimated flux of heavy metals in Pakistan coast: sedimentary pollution and eco-toxicological concerns
U. Ali, R.N. Malik, Ch. Mehmood, L. Sánchez-García, A. Khalid, S. Tanveer, J.H. Syed (2014)
Heavy-metal contamination in coastal areas poses a
serious threat to aquatic life and public health due to their high
toxicity and bio-accumulation potential. In the present study,
levels of different heavy metals (Cu, Cd, Cr, Ni, Co, Pb, Zn,
and Mn), their spatial distribution, geochemical status, and
enrichment indices (Cu, Cd, Cr, Ni, Co, Pb, Zn) were investigated
in the sediment samples from 18 coastal sites of
Pakistan. The analyses of coastal sediments indicated the
presence of heavy metals in order such as Cr>Zn>Cu>Pb>
Ni>Mn>Co>Cd. Geo-accumulation index (Igeo), enrichment
factor (EF), and contamination factor (CF) showed diverse
range in heavy-metal enrichment site by site. Pollution load
index (PLI) has shown that average pollution load along the
entire coastal belt was not significant. Based on the mean
effect range medium quotient, coastal sediments of Pakistan
had 21 % probability of toxicity. The estimated sedimentary
load of selected heavy metals was recorded in the range of
0.3–44.7 g/cm2/year, while the depositional flux was in the
range of 0.07–43.5 t/year. Heavy-metal inventories of 9.8×
102–3.8×105 t were estimated in the coastal sediments of
Pakistan. The enrichment and contamination factors (EF
and CF) suggested significant influence of anthropogenic
and industrial activities along the coastal belt of
Pakistan.
Heavy-metal contamination in coastal areas poses a
serious threat to aquatic life and public health due to their high
toxicity and bio-accumulation potential. In the present study,
levels of different heavy metals (Cu, Cd, Cr, Ni, Co, Pb, Zn,
and Mn), their spatial distribution, geochemical status, and
enrichment indices (Cu, Cd, Cr, Ni, Co, Pb, Zn) were investigated
in the sediment samples from 18 coastal sites of
Pakistan. The analyses of coastal sediments indicated the
presence of heavy metals in order such as Cr>Zn>Cu>Pb>
Ni>Mn>Co>Cd. Geo-accumulation index (Igeo), enrichment
factor (EF), and contamination factor (CF) showed diverse
range in heavy-metal enrichment site by site. Pollution load
index (PLI) has shown that average pollution load along the
entire coastal belt was not significant. Based on the mean
effect range medium quotient, coastal sediments of Pakistan
had 21 % probability of toxicity. The estimated sedimentary
load of selected heavy metals was recorded in the range of
0.3–44.7 g/cm2/year, while the depositional flux was in the
range of 0.07–43.5 t/year. Heavy-metal inventories of 9.8×
102–3.8×105 t were estimated in the coastal sediments of
Pakistan. The enrichment and contamination factors (EF
and CF) suggested significant influence of anthropogenic
and industrial activities along the coastal belt of
Pakistan.