الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract Water and sediment samples were collected from fourteen sampling stations along Al Amia Drain which discharge its effluent to Abu Qir Bay, East Alexandria, Egypt to evaluate levels, transport and fate of metals (Al, Fe, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn) and parent & alkylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (50 PAH compounds). It was found that the study area is highly affected by anthropogenic activities reflected in the high levels of determined pollutants especially in suspended solids and sediment. The drain sediment metals mobility and potential toxicity were assessed based on the analysis of simultaneously extracted metals (ΣSEM) and acid volatile sulfides (AVS) and it was found that AVS was a very important limiting factor for the mobility and availability of cationic metals (Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn) in almost all sampling stations due to anoxic conditions. Ratios were used to infer sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and it was found that the PAHs in the study area were of petrogenic origin in almost all sampling stations. |