International Journal of Environmental Science and Research

International Journal of Environmental Science and Research

Ecological Risk Assessment of Nickel Pollution in The Khozestan Coasts

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
1 Dept of Environmental Sciences , Faculty of Marine Natural Resources, Khorramshahr University of Marine Science and Technology
2 Iranian National Institute for oceanography and atmospheric science
3 Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Marine Natural Resources, Khorramshahr University of Marine Science and Technology.
4 Dep. of Marine Biology, Faculty of Marine Science Faculty of Marine Science and Oceanography, Khoramshahr University of Marine Science and Technology, Khoramshahr, Iran.
5 Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Marine Natural Resources, Khorramshahr University of Marine Science and Technology.
Abstract
The Persian Gulf as one of the important economic areas in the southern region of Iran, is necessary to be protected by conduct numerous studies. In this study, the ecological risk of nickel in surface sediments of this areas between the tidal zone of Arvandkennar, Bahregan, Bandar Imam Khomeini, and Abadan Wharf in Khuzestan was investigated. The concentration of nickel in these sediments was variable with an average of 60.7±6.9 mgKg-1 dry weight and ranged from 55.4 to 66.7 mgKg-1 dry weight. According to the threshold limit of 15.9 mgKg-1, it is found that the concentration of this metal in the sediments of the studied area is higher than its threshold effect level. The ecological risk index (Eij) due to nickel in the sediments of Khuzestan region was variable from 13.9 to 16.7, which are classified as low ecological risk. The data analysis and results obtained from ecological risk assessment showed that despite the fact that nickel concentration in sediments of the studied area (Arvandkennar, Bahregan, Bandar Imam Khomeini, and Abadan Wharf) was higher than the average earth crust and within a high pollution range, it has low bioavailability.
Keywords

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