Abstract
To know the environment impact on a harbor of the Santa Rosalía port on the Baja California peninsula, the concentrations of metals (Cd, Co, Cu, Mn, Pb, U and Zn) in harbor sediments were determined for 13 stations and compared with their average upper Earth´s crust abundance. The mean enrichment factors, calculated using Al as a normalizer, were higher than the unity for Ag, Ba, Bi, Cd, Co, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb, U, V and Zn. Concentrations of slightly enriched Cd in the sediments are below the effect range low (ERL) sediment quality guidelines value only at three stations. The levels of Pb in the harbor sediments at four stations (1, 6, 9 and 11) are between the ERL (46.7 mg kg−1) and the effect range medium (ERM) (218 mg kg−1), and Pb content in the rest of the sediment samples is higher than the ERM, demonstrating the high extent of the anthropogenic impact of this metal on the sedimentary environment. The total concentrations of the potentially toxic elements Cu (3,390 ± 804 mg kg−1) and Zn (1,916 ± 749 mg kg−1) very strongly exceed their ERM, showing a high possibility of toxicological danger for marine biota, living inside or entering the harbor.
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Acknowledgments
This study was supported by Project # 20113395 “Geochemical and ecotoxicological assessment of the state of contamination by heavy metals of the coastal environment of the Santa Rosalía mining region (Southern Baja California)” from the Secretaría de Posgrado e Investigación of the Instituto Politécnico Nacional of Mexico.
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Shumilin, E., Jiménez-Illescas, Á.R. & López-López, S. Anthropogenic Contamination of Metals in Sediments of the Santa Rosalía Harbor, Baja California Peninsula. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 90, 333–337 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-012-0923-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-012-0923-1