Assessment of heavy metal (Zn, Pb, Fe) contamination in surface sediments of creeks flowing to inner part of Izmir Bay (Eastern Aegean Sea)

Abstract

Abstract The objective of this study is to evaluate the new environmental situation following the waste water treatment facility built in 2000 by determining Zn, Pb and Fe concentrations of samples obtained in 2007-2008 from surface sediments of seven creeks flowing into Izmir Bay. Zn concentrations ranged between 5.25-928.76 mg/kg, Pb between ND-265.92 mg/kg and Fe between 22700-141770 mg/kg. Enrichment factor (EF) values show that Zn and Pb mainly originated from anthropogenic sources. While average contamination factor (CF) values displayed a change from moderate contamination to considerable contamination for Zn, contamination level varied between considerable and high in terms of Pb. As Fe is an element originating from the natural structure of the earth, low-moderate contamination levels were detected in the sediments. Although the waste water treatment facility of the municipality started to operate partially in 2000 and in full capacity in 2002, the result of this study revealed the outstanding fact that high amounts of heavy metals were still found in the creeks which should have only included rain water in 2007-2008 when this study was conducted.

Keywords

• Key words: Izmir Bay, heavy metals, enrichment factor, contamination factor, sediment

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