Trace Metals Content in the Ecosystem of Al-Garaf River in Al-Nassiriya City, South of Iraq

Y. Al-khafaji, Basim

	Trace Metals Content in the Ecosystem of Al-Garaf River in Al-Nassiriya City, South of Iraq
journal of al-qadisiyah for pure science(quarterly)
Article 1, Volume 11, Issue 1, 2011, Pages 103-115 PDF (0 K)
Author
Basim Y. Al-khafaji
Abstract
The distribution and concentration of five trace metals Cd, Cu, Ni , Pb , and Zn have been determined in dissolved and particulate phases of water , exchangeable and residual phases of sediment and different organs like (gill,liver,ovaries and muscle) of female fish Silurus triostegus, as were collected from Al-Garaf river north center of Al-Nassiriya city .The study was from May up to Septemper ,2008. Sediment texture and total organic carbon (TOC) were measuered in the sediment of the study area as a percentage .The results showed that the concentration of the studied metals in particulate phase were much higher than its concentrations in dissolved phase of water , while their mean concentration in dissolved (µg/l)and particulate (µg/gm) dry weight in the study area were : (0.2,8.9) Cd, (1.20,57.3) Cu, (0.27 , 25.83) Ni , (0.36,37.83) Pb and (3.0 ,63.9) Zn respectively. The total organic carbon in the sediment revealed higher content in all study stations specially at St2 ,while sediment texture was silt clay in all study stations . For sediment , trace metals was recorded higher concentrations in the residual phase than its concentration in exchangeable phase with exception for Cd and Pb at all stations during the study period, whereas the mean concentration of studied metals in the exchangeable and residual phase in the study area were, (1.14,0.47) Cd, (11.1,15.1) Cu, (8.75,20.3) Ni, (13.36,8.56) Pb and (15.03,24.34) Zn µg/gm dry weight respectively.The significant correlation P<0.05 were observed between TOC and all studied metals in the sediment ; also a significant correlation observed between metals concentration in sediment and their concentration in a particulate phase of water .The trace metals showed diffirent concentrations in different studied organs of the fish and followed the trend Gill> Liver >ovaries > muscle ,while the mean concentration µg/gm dry weight in the muscle were , Cd (ND) , Cu (0.03), Ni(0.51±0.01), Pb(ND) and Zn(7.7±0.8) . The present study showed that the sediment and water specially at St2 and St3 were affected by anthropgenic sources for trace metals, such as the untreated domestic wastes and surrounding human activites, muscle of the studied fish were concentreated lower amount for trace metals, so it can be safely consumed, while all

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