Assessment of heavy metal contamination in sediments of Shitalakhya river, Bangladesh

  • A N M Al-Razee Department of Analytical Chemistry& Environmental Science, Training Institute for Chemical Industries, Polash, Narsingdi, Bangladesh
  • Md Nurul Abser Department of Chemistry, Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka-1342, Bangladesh
  • Md Abdul Mottalib Institute of Leather Engineering and Technology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh
  • Aklima Nargis Department of Chemistry, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh
  • Anowara Khanam Jhumur Department of Chemistry, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh
  • Md Mostak Uddin Thakur Department of Analytical Chemistry & Environmental Science, Training Institute for Chemical Industries, Polash, Narsingdi, Bangladesh
  • Wenbin Liu State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
  • Sandeep Poddar Lincoln University College, Wisma Lincoln, Petaling Jaya 47301, Selangor, Malaysia
  • Md Shafiqul Islam Sarker Central Chemical Laboratory, Department of Narcotics Control, Ministry of Home Affairs, Dhaka-1204, Bangladesh
  • Ahsan Habib Department of Chemistry, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh

Abstract

Sediment samples collected from Shitalakhya river, Bangladesh, were analyzed using AAS for spatial and seasonal (i.e., dry, pre-monsoon, post-monsoon) variation of Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu and Zn. The mean concentrations of Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu and Zn were 22.37 ± 0.78, 612.59 ± 15.31, 54.11 ± 1.62, 50.36 ± 1.02 and 103.62 ± 3.11 mg/kg in dry; 31.58 ± 0.95, 569.71 ± 17.09, 58.35 ± 1.75, 49.93 ± 1.01 and 22.37 ± 0.78 mg/kg in pre-monsoon; 18.09 ± 0.54, 567.02 ± 17.01, 50.89 ± 1.53, 39.75 ± 1.19 and 31.58 ± 0.95 mg/kg in post-monsoon, respectively. These results indicate that concentrations of the heavy metals were almost same in the three seasons, however, concentrations were slightly higher in dry and pre-monsoon than those in post-monsoon with respect to spatial variation. The high concentrations of Ni and Cu among the studied metals were due to use of oxides of these heavy metals as catalysts in urea plant. Assessment of the heavy metal contamination of the sediments was done through calculation of various statistical indices i.e., Pearson correlation matrix, geo-accumulation index (Igeo), contamination factor (Cf), degree of contamination (Cd), pollution load index (PLI) and ecological risk potential (RI) factors for Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu and Zn in sediments indicated that the contamination status in the studied area was low. However, the high concentrations of the heavy metals especially Ni and Cu than the TEL and TRV values suggesting unsafe to use the sediments for vegetation and other uses.

Published
Jun 23, 2021
How to Cite
AL-RAZEE, A N M et al. Assessment of heavy metal contamination in sediments of Shitalakhya river, Bangladesh. Pakistan Journal of Analytical & Environmental Chemistry, [S.l.], v. 22, n. 1, p. 84-99, june 2021. ISSN 2221-5255. Available at: <https://pjaec.pk/index.php/pjaec/article/view/662>. Date accessed: 29 nov. 2023. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.21743/pjaec/2021.06.10.