title: Geochemical fractionation of trace elements in sediments of Hugli River (Ganges) and Sundarban wetland (West Bengal, India).
abstract: A sequential extraction procedure was carried out to determinate the concentrations of 11 elements (Al, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn) in different geochemical phases of sediments collected along the Hugli (Ganges) River Estuary and in the Sundarban mangrove wetland, eastern coastal part of India. The chemical speciation of elements was determined using the three-step sequential extraction procedure described by the European Community Bureau of Reference. Total metal concentration was determined using a microwave-assisted acid digestion procedure. Metal concentrations were near the background level except for As for which a moderate pollution can be hypothesized. The mobility order of the metals was: Cd > Mn > Cu > Zn > As > Co > Pb > Ni > Fe > Cr > Al. The highest percentage of Cd (>60%) was found in the most labile phase. Residual fraction was prevailing for Fe, Cr and Al, while Pb was mainly associated with the reducible fraction. Data were compared with Sediment Quality Guidelines to estimate the relationship between element concentrations and adverse biological effects on benthic community, finding the possibility of some toxic effects due to the presence of As in the entire studied area and Cd, only in Calcutta.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Genova, via Dodecaneso 31, 16146 Genoa, Italy. massolo@chimica.unige.it
authors.forename: Serena
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Massolo
authors.forename: Antonello
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bignasca
authors.forename: Santosh Kumar
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Sarkar
authors.forename: Mousumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chatterjee
authors.forename: Bhaskar Deb
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Bhattacharya
authors.forename: Aftab
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alam
mesh_terms: D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D007194:India; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry*; D014131:Trace Elements / Q000032:analysis*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D053833:Wetlands
chemical_list: D014131:Trace Elements; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical