Study the concentration of heavy metals in the North Yaran oilfield sediments in the Hur Al-Azim wetland, Khuzestan

Abstract

Sediments are the main absorbers of metal pollutants. Therefore, it is essential to study them. In this paper, 72 samples of surface sediments from six stations were selected using Grap sampler in the summer of 2015 to determine the concentration of heavy elements such as cadmium, nickel, lead, and vanadium in the surface sediments of the North Yaran oilfield in Hur Al-Azim wetland. An atomic absorption device was used to determine the concentration of heavy elements, and SPSS and EXCEL software were used for statistical data processing. According to the results, the average concentration of cadmium, lead, vanadium, and nickel was 1.4, 48.87, 32.65, and 87.33 mg/L, respectively. Sediment quality standards in the United States (NOAA) and in Canada (ISQGs) were used to compare these values with the allowable contamination levels of elements in sediment. According to the results, the average concentration of cadmium and lead in the present study was higher than the standard indicators of ERL and TEL and lower than the standard indicators of ERM and PEL. Average concentration of nickel was higher than these standard indicators. The results showed that nickel has more pollution than other metals, consistent with other research conducted in the region. Based on results, the amount of pollution of heavy metals studied in this research was not dangerous and critical. Still, it is necessary to prevent the increase in metallic toxicity in the region's environment by adopting preventive approaches.

Keywords

• heavy metals
• environmental pollutant
• north yaran
• oil field