Anal. Method Environ. Chem. J. 3 (4) (2020) 60-71

Research Article, Issue 4

Analytical Methods in Environmental Chemistry Journal

Journal home page: www.amecj.com/ir

AMECJ

Determination and investigation of heavy metal

concentrations in sediments of the Persian Gulf coasts and

evaluation of their potential environmental risk

Hoda Allami

, Afsaneh Afzali

a,*

and Rouhollah Mirzaei

Department of Environment, Faculty of Natural Resources and Earth Sciences, University of Kashan, Kashan. Iran

ABSTRACT

The contamination of coastal sediments with toxic heavy metals

caused to a serious concern due to their environmental consequences.

The aim of this study was to determine the concentration of heavy

metals such as lead (Pb), copper (Cu), nickel(Ni) and manganese

(Mn) in the sediments of the Persian Gulf coast in Kangan and Siraf

ports in Bushehr province. In this regard, the sampling was performed

in 10 stations with different uses in two depths of 0-5 and 5-20 cm

along the coast of the Persian Gulf. The concentration of heavy

metals was measured after drying, acid digestion and microwave by

using ame atomic absorption spectrometry (F-AAS). Ecological risk

index was used to assess the potential of environmental risk due to

heavy metal pollution in the coastal sediments of the study area and

the sensitivity of the biological community to toxic substances. Then

statistical analysis in SPSS environment was used for analyzing the

data. The results showed that the average concentrations of Mn(II),

Ni(II), Cu(II) and Pb(II) was measured 121.47, 11.51, 11.59 and 5.30

in surface sediments, and 131.59, 10.81, 12.56 and 4.88 µg g

-1

in deep

sediments. The results of the ecological risk index with the value of

less than 150, showed a low environmental risk of heavy metals

detected in the region. Also, the results of multivariate statistical

analyzes indicated the existence of a correlation and common origin

of Cu, Ni and Mn. In general, this study led to a better understanding

of the contamination of heavy metals in the region and considered it

necessary to try to prevent, control and reduce the amount of pollution

in the sediments of the Persian Gulf coast. All analysis validated

by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry(ET-AAS) after

dilution samples with DW.

Keywords:

Heavy metals,

Analysis,

Sediments of the Persian Gulf coasts,

Flame/electrothermal atomic

absorption spectrometry,

Environmental risk

ARTICLE INFO:

Received 22 Aug 2020

Revised form 20 Oct 2020

Accepted 15 Nov 2020

Available online 30 Dec 2020

*Corresponding Author: Afsaneh Afzali

Email: a.afzali@Kashanu.ac.ir

https://doi.org/10.24200/amecj.v3.i04.122

------------------------

1. Introduction

Heavy metals as the inorganic pollutants are con-

sidered as one of the serious threats in natural

ecosystems due to their non-degradability, the

environmental stability, the toxicity to various

aquatic species and biological magnication [1].

Heavy metal pollution results from rapid urban-

ization and human activities including electricity

generation, transportation, fossil fuel combus-

tion, use of various chemicals, and other related

activities [2, 3]. Heavy metals are metals with a

specic density of less than 5 g cm

-2

[4]. In the

aquatic ecosystem, a number of metals such as

Zn, Fe, Mn and Ni are required for the activity of

biological systems. For example, diseases such as

skin diseases are the result of removing essential

elements such as zinc from the diet of living be-

ings. However, the high concentrations of heavy

metals can be toxic to human organisms. While

some heavy metals such as; Cd, Ni, Hg, and Pb

are not essential for the activity of biological sys-

tems, their presence in aquatic ecosystems causes

toxicity to living organisms [5]. Also, some met-

als such as Pb have caused the most concern due

to their toxic and carcinogenic properties. In ad-

dition, due to the fact that the amount of Pb that

enters the environment through human activities

is higher than the Pb that enters the environment

from natural sources, the high concentration of

this metal in the environment can be considered

as an indicator of the level of pollution caused

by human activities in the region [6]. Coastal

areas are the point of connection between land

and ocean, which are more important than other

marine habitats due to their ecological sensitivity

to pollutants, transmission of contaminants in the

food chain and poisoning of living organisms [7].

Since the beginning of the industrial revolution

and the subsequent increase in industry growth,

the large amounts of toxic pollutants have been

discharged into the coastal environment, causing

metal pollution of the sediments. Heavy metals

in the coastal environment originate from two

natural and human sources [1, 3]. Metal contam-

inants in coastal sediments are precipitated by

adsorption, hydrolysis, and co-sedimentation,

while a small fraction of free metal ions remain

in the water column. However, when environ-

mental conditions such as pH change, the metals

in the sediment enter the water, as a result, the

sediments can also act as a secondary source of

metals [8]. Since more than 90% of heavy met-

al pollution entering the marine ecosystem orig-

inates from terrestrial sources [9], the coastal

sediments are often referred to as heavy metal

reservoirs or inlets [9]. Some researchers have

been performed to investigate and identify the

concentration of heavy metals and evaluation of

their potential environmental risk on the coastal

area i.e on the coastal sediments of Kerala, India

[6], on the surface sediments along the southeast

coast of the Caspian Sea [10], on surface sedi-

ments of the Sobi Shoal, China [11] and on the

coastal sediments of northern part along the Per-

sian Gulf [3]. The results of environmental risk

index in the study of Arfaeinia et al. (2019) on

coastal sediments of the Persian Gulf showed

that the industrial, agricultural, urban and natu-

ral areas are in the category of very high, con-

siderable, moderately and low environmental risk

levels, respectively. Due to the lack of data on

the abundance and distribution of heavy metals

in sediments of the coastal areas of the world, es-

pecially the Persian Gulf coast, and the possible

consequences of these pollutions, especially their

negative impact on marine ecosystem and the life

of living things, further studies on the extent of

heavy metal pollution are necessary. The differ-

ent techniques such as; ame atomic absorption

spectrometry (F-AAS), inductively coupled plas-

ma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES),

inductively coupled plasma spectrometry (ICP),

inductively coupled plasma mass spectrome-

try (ICP-MS), electrothermal atomic absorption

spectrometry (ETAAS) and others were used for

determination heavy metals in water, industrial

wastewater and sediment samples. As difculty

matrixes in biological, industrial wastewater and

sediment samples sample preparation based on

solid phase extraction(SPE) or liquid-liquid ex-

traction (LLE) and microwave digestion/acid di-

gestion was used before determination of heavy

metals by instruments.

The coast of the Persian Gulf in the south of Iran,

due to its high biodiversity, rich natural resourc-

es, warm climate and natural attractions, attracts

millions of tourists annually. Consequently, the

discharge of municipal and industrial wastewa-

ter has caused the presence of various pollutants,

including heavy metals in the sediments of this

area the objective of this study is to measure

the concentration of heavy metals in the coasts

Heavy metal determination in sediments of the Persian Gulf Hoda Allami et al

Anal. Method Environ. Chem. J. 3 (4) (2020) 60-71

of the Persian Gulf i.e Kangan and Siraf ports to

estimate the extent of heavy metal pollution and

evaluation of their potential environmental risk

in the region. All heavy metals were determined

by microwave digestion/acid digestion coupled to

F-AAS.

2. Experimental

2.1. Instrumental

Determination of lead (Pb), copper (Cu), nick-

el(Ni) and manganese (Mn) was performed with

a ame atomic absorption spectrometer (F-AAS),

with an air-acetylene ame, was used for deter-

mination in surface and deep sediments samples

(GBC, model plus 932, Aus). Copper based on

wavelength 324.7 nm, slit 0.5 nm, lamp current

3.0 mA (1-5 mg L

-1

), lead based on wavelength

217.0 nm, slit 1.0 nm, lamp current 5.0 mA (2.5-

20 mg L

-1

), nickel with wavelength 232.0 nm, slit

0.2 nm, lamp current 4.0 mA (1.8-8 mg L

-1

) and

manganese by wavelength 279.8 nm, slit 0.2 nm,

lamp current 5.0 mA (1-36 mg L

-1

) were selected.

The spectra GBC electrothermal atomic absorp-

tion spectrometer (ET-AAS, Plus 932, Australia)

using a graphite furnace module (GF3000, GBC)

was used for validation of results. The operating

parameters for the metal of interest were set as

recommended by the manufacturer book. The

light of hollow cathode lamp (GBC) adjusted

on the furnace tube or burner. All samples were

performed using sample volumes of 20 μL and

1000-2000 μL by auto-sampler for ET-AAS and

F-AAS. respectively. The instrumental conditions

and temperature programming for the graphite at-

omizer are listed in Table 1a and 1 b.

2.2. Reagents

All reagents were of analytical grade from Merck

Germany. The lead (Pb), copper (Cu), nickel(Ni)

and manganese (Mn) stock solution was prepared

from an appropriate amount of the nitrate salt of

this analyte as 1,000 mg L

-1

solution in 0.01 mol

-1

HNO

(Merck). Standard solutions were pre-

pared daily by dilution of the stock solution. Ul-

trapure water (18 MΩ.cm) was obtained from Mil-

lipore Continental Water System (Bedford, USA).

2.3. Area of study

Persian Gulf is a border and semi-enclosed sea

with an area of about 226,000 square kilome-

ters, which is located at latitude 24° to 30° 30´

north latitude and 48° to 56° 25´ east longitude

surrounded by the land. This sea has a dry and

subtropical climate with a minimum water ex-

change and an average depth of 35-40 meters.

Various factors such as limited circulation, shal-

Table 1a. Instrumental conditions for heavy metal determination by F-AAS

NiMnPbCuParameters

232.0 nm

0.2 nm

4.0 mA

Automatic

1.8-8

Peak integration

279.8 nm

0.2 nm

5.0 mA

Automatic

1-36

Peak integration

217.0 nm

1.0 nm

5.0 mA

Automatic

2.5-20

Peak integration

324.7 nm

0.5 nm

3.0 mA

Automatic

1-5

Peak integration

Wavelength (nm)

Slit (nm)

Lamp current (mA)

Injection mode

Working range (mg L

-1

)

Mode

Table 1b. Temperature programing for heavy metal determination by ET-AAS

Ar ow rate

(mL min

−1

)

Hold

time (s)

Ramp time

(s)

Temperature

Ni (

◦

Temperature

Mn (

◦

Temperature

Pb (

◦

Temperature

Cu (

◦

Step

3001020130130120120Drying

3001040900700400800Ashing

0.0212400240020002300Atomization

300312600260022002500Cleaning

low depth, high water temperature and salinity

have caused the Contaminants remain stable

in this area for a long time. Kangan port with

a population of 60187 people is located in the

south of Bushehr province and on the coast of

the Persian Gulf. Kangan city is the place imple-

mentation of a large part of South Pars refinery

projects. The economic background of its people

has been agriculture, fishing and marine trade.

Also, Siraf port with a population of 6992 people

is in the central part of Kangan city in Bushehr

province. This port is located between Kangan

and Assaluyeh ports and has a special character-

istic due to its location between the two regions

of South Pars energy and Kangan energy region.

Also, the its historical area and the beautiful sea

of Siraf has attracted many tourists. The name of

each station and the geographical coordinates of

the sampling points are presented in Table 2 and

shown in Figure 1.

Table 2. Geographical coordinates of sampling stations

Geographical coordinates

Station locationStation name

3059458635084

Siraf port

3059481634398S

3060955632126S

3075796607211

Kangan port

3079199603885K

3079640603295K

3080053602444K

3080147601383K

3080150600489K

3080196599667K

Fig. 1. Location of the study area and sampling stations

Heavy metal determination in sediments of the Persian Gulf Hoda Allami et al

Anal. Method Environ. Chem. J. 3 (4) (2020) 60-71

2.4. Sampling method

In order to determine the concentration of heavy

metals, sampling was performed in January

2018. For sampling, 10 stations were selected

in the lower tidal line of the Persian Gulf coast

where sediment has the most contact with wa-

ter. Accurate sampling points were determined

using the Global Positioning System (GPS).

Coastal sediments were collected in the lower

tidal line in a transect with a length of 1000 m

using 30 x 30 cm quadrats in three replications

and two depths of 0-5 and 5-20 cm. During sam-

pling, natural waste pieces such as wood and

stone were removed from the sampling area.

Then 2 + 0.5 kg of sediment sample was col-

lected from each station using a stainless steel

shovel and metal ruler from the surface and

subsurface layer. Samples collected from both

depths were placed separately in sealed bags

and transferred to the laboratory after number-

ing. The samples taken to the laboratory were

dried at room temperature and stored until fur-

ther analysis.

2.5. Procedure for determination of heavy

metals

A composite sample of three replicates in the

surface and deep sediments of each station was

separated and completely powdered and ho-

mogenized by mortar. Then the homogenized

sample was passed through a 63-micron sieve.

This method was performed because heavy met-

als are often associated with small grains [12],

One gram of dry sediment was weighed and di-

gested in PTFE tubes using a mixture of 7 ml

HNO

, 5 ml HClO

and 2 ml HF at 200 ° C for 8

hours. After cooling, the samples were filtered

through Whatman 42 μm filter paper and finally

diluted and then adjusted to 25 cc volume using

distilled water. The diluted samples were cen-

trifuged at 400 rpm for 6 minutes and stored in

special plastic containers. For validation, Some

of samples digested by microwave digestion

method (MWM) and compared to proposed pro-

cedure. 5 replicate samples and 2 blank samples

were used with the aim of accuracy of analyti-

cal results and eliminating the error caused by

the test process. Also, all plastic and glass con-

tainers for digestion and measurement of heavy

metals were immersed in 10% nitric acid for 24

hours and then washed three times with distilled

water before use. Finally, the concentrations of

heavy metals such as, Ni, Pb, Mn and Cu were

measured by the flame atomic absorption spec-

trometer (AAS) GBC model. The results were

validated by electrothermal atomic absorption

spectrometry (GBC, Pal 3000, ET-AAS).

2.6. Potential environmental risk index

The potential environmental risk index is wide-

ly used to evaluate the potential environmen-

tal risk of heavy metal pollution in the coastal

sediments and the sensitivity of the biological

community to toxic substances. Equation 1 was

proposed by Hakanson in 1980 [13] for calcu-

lating the potential environmental risk was pro-

posed as follows:

where Cf is the contamination index of heavy

metal, C

is heavy metal concentration in the

sample, Cb is the background value of the each

heavy metal (element concentration in shale),

RI is the total potential environmental risk of

heavy metals in sediment, Er is the potential

environmental risk index of each metal and Tr

is as a toxicity response factor, by showing the

toxicity potential of heavy metals and environ-

mental sensitivity to contamination, indicate

the potential risk of heavy metal contamina-

tion. toxic response factor values for Pb, Cu,

Ni and Mn are 5, 5, 5 and 1, respectively [14].

Table 3 shows the environmental risk status

classification of the studied heavy metals. Also

in this study, the average shale presented by

Turekian and Wedepohl in 1961[15] was used

as the background concentration to determine

the amount of sediment contamination to heavy

elements (Table 4).

2.7. Statistical analysis

Data analysis was performed using SPSS sta-

tistical software version 22. First, the normal-

ity of the data was evaluated by Kolmogor-

ov-Smirnov test. Then, in order to understand

the changes in the concentration of heavy

metals at two depths of 0–5 and 5–20 cm, the

mean equality tests of two independent societies

were used. Also, the importance of the relation-

ship between heavy metals was analyzed using

Pearson correlation analysis. In addition, clus-

ter analysis was used to explain the correlation

pattern between heavy metals, identify potential

sources and group them based on their similar-

ities and differences. The significance level of

statistical tests was considered 5% (95% confi-

dence level).

3. Results and Discussion

3.1. Heavy metal determination in surface and

deep sediments

The results of measuring the concentration of

heavy metals in surface and deep sediments of

10 sampling stations in Kangan and Siraf ports

are presented in Table 5. The highest and lowest

mean concentrations of the studied metals in sur-

face and deep sediments were related to Mn and

Pb with the amount of 121.47 44.20 ± and 5.30

7.09 ± μg g

-1

dry weight of surface sediment and

131.59 70.64 ± and 4.88 8.08 ± μg g

-1

dry weight

of deep sediment, respectively. Among the stud-

ied heavy metals in the surface sediments of the

study area, Pb and Cu with the variation coeffi-

cients of 1.33 and 23 had the highest and lowest

values, respectively. Also, in deep sediments, Pb

and Cu with the variation coefficients of 1.65 and

0.28 had the highest and lowest values, respec-

tively. A variation coefficient of less than 1 and

indicates low variability, while a variation coef-

ficient of greater than 1 indicates high variabil-

ity and non-uniform distribution of the studied

heavy metals in sediment [17]. In this study, only

lead metal in surface and deep sediments had a

variation coefficient of greater than 1. Moreover,

the different techniques for heavy metal deter-

mination (μg g

-1

) in surface and deep sediments

of Kangan and Siraf ports coasts was used and

shown in Table 6. Also, the results of comparing

the concentrations of heavy metals such as, Cu,

Mn, Ni and Pb in surface and deep sediments of

the coasts of Kangan and Siraf ports showed that

there is no significant difference between their

average concentrations at two depths (P> 0.05)

(Table 7).

Table 3. Classication of heavy metal environmental risk assessment index [16]

Category risk levels DescriptionCategory risk levels Description

Er ≤ 40Low riskRI ≤ 150Low risk

40 ≤ Er ≤ 80Moderate risk 150 ≤ RI ≤ 300Moderate risk

80 ≤ Er ≤ 160Considerable risk300 ≤ RI ≤ 600Considerable risk

160 ≤ Er ≤ 320High riskRI ≥ 600High risk

ER ≥ 320Very high risk--

Table 4. Concentration of metals in average shale (ppm)

MnNiCuPbMetals

850684520Average

Heavy metal determination in sediments of the Persian Gulf Hoda Allami et al

Anal. Method Environ. Chem. J. 3 (4) (2020) 60-71

Table 5. Descriptive statistics of heavy metal concentration (μg g

-1

) in surface and deep sediments

of Kangan and Siraf ports coasts

Depth of sampling Descriptive statistics

Heavy metals

Pb Cu Ni Mn

Surface sample

minimum 0 7.55 3.27 70.72

maximum 17.82 16.57 28.37 203.3

Average 5.30 11.59 11.51 121.47

Standard deviation 7.09 2.76 7.07 44.20

Coefcient of variation 1.33 0.23 0.61 0.36

skewness 1.19 0.32 1.53 0.95

kurtosis -0.05 -0.38 3.37 -0.13

Deep sample

minimum 0 8.77 2.37 53.62

maximum 22.25 20.97 28.87 294.6

Average 4.88 12.56 10.81 131.59

Standard deviation 8.08 3.64 7.65 70.64

Coefcient of variation 1.65 0.28 0.70 0.53

skewness 1.71 1.57 1.48 1.44

kurtosis 1.67 2.46 3.06 2.44

Table 6. Different techniques for heavy metal determination (μg g

-1

)

in surface and deep sediments of Kangan and Siraf ports coasts (n=5, mean SD < 5%)

Surface sample

Techniques

Heavy metals

Pb Cu Ni Mn

F-AAS 5.30 11.59 11.51 121.5

ICP 5.41 11.06 12.02 119.9

ET-AAS 5.23 10.93 11.42 125.7

Deep sample

F-AAS 4.88 12.56 10.81 131.59

ICP 5.12 12.14 11.24 126.82

ET-AAS 4.73 12.35 11.03 124.27

Table 7. Results of comparing the concentration of heavy metals in surface

and deep sediments

Metal Test statistics signicance level

Pb 0.122 0.904

Cu -0.671 0.511

Ni 0.210 0.836

Mn -0.384 0.705

3.2. Correlation analysis and determination of

heavy metals origin

The results of Pearson correlation among the

studied metals are presented in Table 8. Accord-

ingly, in sediment samples, there is a positive

and moderate correlation between Cu and Ni as

well as Ni and Mn at the level of 1% and 5%, re-

spectively (P <0.05). As the concentration of Ni

increases, the concentrations of Cu and Mn in-

crease. This correlation can be the result of geo-

logical property, common resources, or similar

behaviors of these elements. Also, all metals in

cluster analysis were classified into two statisti-

cally significant clusters based on the similarity

and dissimilarity among different groups. The

first cluster was divided into 2 subgroups. The

first subgroup consisted of Cu and Ni with sim-

ilar geological property which had positive and

significant correlation, and the second group

included Mn, which may be derived from both

human and natural resources. The second clus-

ter contained Pb metal, with less similarity and

greater distance compared to the first cluster.

Pearson correlation was used for hierarchical

cluster analysis and the results were presented

as a dendrogram chart (Fig. 2). The results of

cluster analysis almost confirmed the results of

correlation analysis.

Table 8. Pearson correlation coefcient of heavy metals studied

MnNiCuPbMetal

1Pb

10.104Cu

10.583

-0.332Ni

10.444

0.175-0.263Mn

* Signicance at the level of 0.05 ** Signicance at the level of 0.01

Fig. 2. Results of heavy metal cluster analysis in coastal sediments

Heavy metal determination in sediments of the Persian Gulf Hoda Allami et al

Anal. Method Environ. Chem. J. 3 (4) (2020) 60-71

3.3. Environmental risk evaluation

The results of environmental risk evaluation of

heavy metals in the surface and deep sediments of

the studied stations were less than 150, which indi-

cated the low environmental risk of heavy metals

in Kangan and Siraf coastal areas. Also, the indi-

vidual environmental hazard index of the studied

metals was less than 40 and showed the descend-

ing order of Pb> Cu> Ni> Mn for surface and deep

sediments.

3.4. Discussion

Nowadays one of the most important global envi-

ronmental problems is pollution caused by heavy

metals. High concentrations of metals along with

high durability, inherent toxicity and consequently

accumulation in the food chain play an important

role in ecosystems and human health. Therefore,

this study has identied the concentration of heavy

metals in the collected samples of surface and deep

sediments of the Persian Gulf coastal area in Kan-

gan and Siraf ports.

Heavy metals are affected by oil pollution and re-

lated industries, ship activity and sewage inow

as the common pollution in the study area. In this

study, the highest concentrations of heavy metals in

surface and deep sediments include Mn, Cu, Ni and

Pb, respectively. Also in other studies conducted in

the Persian Gulf coast of Bushehr province, includ-

ing the study by Hosseini and Habibi et al [18,19],

the concentration of Mn, Ni and Cu in the region is

higher than Pb. The study by Arfaeinia et al on the

concentration of heavy metals in the coasts of Asa-

loyeh in Persian Gulf showed that due to the high

concentration of industries in this region, the con-

centration of pollutants is much higher than other

coasts of the Persian Gulf [3]. The high concentra-

tion of heavy metals in industrial and commercial

areas compared to non-industrial areas showed that

human activities strongly affect the concentration

and distribution of heavy metals in the environ-

ment. Industrial and agricultural wastewater, sol-

id and liquid wastes and atmospheric emissions

increase the concentration of metals in sediments

of the area. Atmospheric sediments can affect large

areas according to population distribution and in-

dustrial activities [3]. Also, erosion and washing

of urban soils by oods and sewage can be other

possible sources of sediment pollution and accu-

mulation of heavy metals on the coast [20]. The

results of comparing the concentrations of heavy

metals in the two coastal areas of Kangan and Siraf

showed the existence of concentration differences

between them, which can be due to various reasons

such as the number and type of pollutants in the en-

vironment, the distance from the source of contam-

ination to the sampling site, sediment texture and

mineralogical compositions, physical and chemical

properties of sediment such as pH and temperature,

amount of sediment organic matter and also the ef-

fect of environmental factors on metal deposition

in sediment. The presence of heavy metals in the

stations located in Kangan and Siraf ports can be

attributed to various agricultural activities such as

vegetables planting in greenhouses, using fertiliz-

ers and soil conditioners, drip irrigation pipes, re-

pair of agricultural equipments and the use of pes-

ticides. In addition, the existence of petrochemical

and rening industries and their discharge of efu-

ents to the coast, as well as high human activities

such as the movement of ships and shing boats

and their discharge of sewage and waste can be

considered as the effective factors in the increase

of heavy metal concentrations on the coastal areas.

Furthermore, the heavy metal pollution in the re-

gion could be due to the use of small rivers water

to irrigate agricultural lands. Rivers water may be

contaminated by discharge of municipal and in-

dustrial wastewater from the upstream wastewa-

ter treatment plants. Irrigation with contaminated

water signicantly increases the levels of various

pollutants including heavy metals, PAHs and PCBs

in coastal sediments [3]. In this study, stations K

and K

showed the highest concentrations of heavy

metals in surface and deep sediments, respectively.

Station K

is located near an area with high agri-

cultural activities and Station K

is adjacent to the

commercial wharf of Kangan port. The study by

Wang et al also showed that the samples collect-

ed from agricultural soil contained large amounts

of heavy metals. The high concentrations of Cu,

Ni and Mn in the station K

sediments indicated

their common sources and similar behavior [21]. In

addition, the results of multivariate statistical an-

alyzes showed the common origin of Cu, Ni and

Mn and their correlation. The presence of Ni in the

sediments of the Persian Gulf coast is probably due

to the geological origin and human activities relat-

ed to oil products in the region [22]. The ground

sources of nickel include minerals such as clay,

sandstone and basalt [20]. The study by Arfaeinia

et al was showed that the origin of Ni in the re-

gion is probably due to dyes used in machinery and

ships industry [3]. In addition, the concentration of

Mn in sediment may increase due to human activ-

ities such as discharge of municipal and industrial

wastewater, use of agricultural fertilizers and con-

sumption of diesel fuel in motor boats. Also, Mn

is easily removed from igneous and metamorphic

rocks due to weathering of rocks and in interaction

with surface and groundwater, and is released into

aquatic environments [23]. Cu is also widely used

due to its special physical properties and usually ac-

cumulates in soils and sediments following human

activities [20]. In this study, the highest concentra-

tions of Cu were identied near residential areas

with agricultural activities. As a result, the presence

of Cu in the region can be due to the discharge of

municipal sewage and agricultural pesticides on

the coastal area and also the release of paint used in

conveyors, ships and vessels in the water environ-

ment which is in line with the study by Haghshenas

et al [24]. The concentration of Pb in nature is low,

so human activities increase the concentration of

Pb in the environment [6]. Pb in the environment

comes from the oil industry, lead-containing paints

and leaded gasoline. The concentration of Pb metal

from dyes is related to the proximity of the struc-

tures to the coastal areas and their age. While the

amount of Pb due to the displacement of ships and

the emission of polluted gases by vehicles depends

on the volume of trafc [20]. Among the studied

stations, stations S

and K

showed the highest Pb

concentrations in surface and deep sediments, re-

spectively. These two stations are located near the

shing port, residential and industrial areas. As a

result, high concentrations of Pb can result from

high-trafc shipping activities, release of paint

from the ships’ body, proximity to roads and road

transport, shing boat activity, and pollution from

industrial wastewater discharge [25]. In general,

factors such as high temperature and humidity on

the shores of the Persian Gulf accelerate the cor-

rosion process of metal smithereens, which mostly

include Cu and Ni alloys. Also, the oil-richness of

the region, the existence of activities related to the

oil industry and the transport of metal-containing

sediment particles by rivers and surface runoff,

cause the discharge of metals in the environment

and their accumulation in the sediments of the re-

gion [3].

4. Conclusions

The coast of the Persian Gulf is an important and

strategic region that contributes to the economic

growth of the country due to its beautiful scenery

and rich resources of oil and gas. However, there

is a possibility of contamination of these beaches

with heavy metals due to various land and sea ac-

tivities, mismanagement of solid wastes and dis-

charge of various industrial and municipal waste-

waters. The results of this study showed that heavy

metals are pervasive in surface and deep sediments

of all studied stations and the distance from the

source of pollution, environmental conditions and

sediment characteristics have caused differences in

the frequency and concentration of these pollutants

in different stations. The concentrations of heavy

metals such as Pb, Cu, Mn and Ni in surface and

deep sediments were studied and determined by

F-AAS, which almost all stations had the highest

concentration of Mn and the lowest concentration

of Pb. Observations showed that there is a positive

correlation between Cu and Ni as well as Ni and

Mn (P <0.05). As the concentration of Ni increas-

es, so does the concentration of Cu and Mn. Also,

the results of multivariate statistical analyzes have

well conrmed the existence of this relationship.

All samples were validated by microwave diges-

tion method coupled to ET-AAS. In addition, the

Heavy metal determination in sediments of the Persian Gulf Hoda Allami et al

Anal. Method Environ. Chem. J. 3 (3) (2020) 60-71

ecological risk assessment index to determine the

environmental risk of heavy metals showed that

the sediment contamination status of these metals

was not in a dangerous and critical state. However,

regular management and preventive measures are

necessary to prevent the increase of heavy metal

pollutants in the environment.

5. Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank from the anonymous re-

viewers for their valuable comments.

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