Characterization and Quantification of Heavy Metals in Oued Sebou Sediments

Abstract

The discharge of large quantities of industrial and domestic effluents into the estuaries, with or without treatment, has led to an increase in the amount of micropollutants present in the sediments. In this study, we have assessed the quality of sediments of Sebou river studying the physicochemical parameters, percentage of organic matter, mineralogy, and trace levels of metal elements trapped in the sample sediments of Sebou river. The sediments samples were collected from the upstream of Fez river, confluence between the Fez river and the Sebou river, Ain Nokbi river, and edge of Sebou river, where wastewaters from the city of Fez are discharged. The sediments samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, while trace levels of metallic elements, Calcium, Zinc, Copper, Cadmium, Iron, and Nickel, were determined by the ICP-AES analysis. The obtained results show that there is a significant change in the values of the studied metals which is probably due to industrial effluents. Indeed, the metal content in the sediments reaches particularly high values exceeding the limit recommended by WHO. These results suggested that the pollution by metallic industrial effluents discharged without treatments poses potential threat to the receiving rivers and may represent a danger for humans which are exposed to pollutants due to the numerous uses of such river waters.