DETERMINATION OF HEAVY METAL POLLUTION AND 137CS DISTRIBUTION IN NORTHWEST ANATOLIAN COASTAL SEDIMENTS
Project no. 453 · Status: Kapanmış · 2017
Summary
Heavy metal pollution, which has become a global problem with the development of industry, transportation and other technological processes, and radioactive pollution, which unavoidably came into our lives as a result of nuclear weapons tests and nuclear accidents, play a major role among the environmental problems faced by humanity today. In terms of monitoring pollution, coastal sediments are important due to reflecting both terrestrial environment and aquatic environment. Therefore, in the comprehensive and systematic study carried out on the coasts of Northwestern Anatolia, including Bozcaada, it was aimed to evaluate the region in terms of radioecological risk assessment. For 100 coastal sediment samples taken from 451 km long coastline, the heavy metal concentrations were determined by ICP-MS method and 137Cs concentrations were carried out by gamma spectroscopic method. For the selected heavy metals As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn, the ecological risk parameters arising from the accumulation of these heavy metals were determined by classification according to the Sediment Quality Directive criteria proposed by USEPA, contamination factor, enrichment factor and geo-accumulation indices. The obtained data on anthropogenic 137Cs concentration and heavy metal concentrations were mapped and visualized with the help of geographical information systems. The ordering according to the average metal pollution in Northwestern Anatolia coastal sediment samples was: As> Pb> Zn> Cr> Cd> Ni> Cu. The obtained results are of important for sustainable environmental planning and coastal management. Keywords: Coastal sediments, Northwest Anatolia, 137Cs, ecological risk assessment, sediment quality guidelines, contamination factor, enrichment factor, geo-accumulation index, multivariate statistical analysis, mapping.