Assessment of sediment quality based on acid-volatile sulfide and simultaneously extracted metals in heavily industrialized area of Asaluyeh, Persian Gulf: concentrations, spatial distributions, and sediment bioavailability/toxicity

Sediment samples from the coastal area of Asaluyeh harbor were collected during autumn and spring 2015. The acidvolatile sulfide (AVS) and simultaneously extracted metals (SEMs) were measured to assess the sediment quality and potential ecological risks. The average concentrations (and relative standard deviation (RSD)) of AVS in the industrial sediments were 12.32 mu mol/g (36.91) and 6.34 mu mol/g (80.05) in autumn and spring, respectively, while in the urban area, these values were 0.44 mu mol/g (123.50) and 0.31 mu mol/g (160.0) in autumn and spring, respectively. The average concentrations ofSEM(and RSD) in the industrial sediments were 15.02 mu mol/g (14.38) and 12.34 mu mol/g (20.65) in autumn and spring, respectively, while in the urban area, these values were 1.10 mu mol/g (43.03) and 1.06 mu mol/g (55.59) in autumn and spring, respectively. Zn was the predominant component (34.25-86.24 %) of SEM, while the corresponding value for Cd, much more toxic ingredient, was less than 1 %. Some of the coastal sediments in the harbor of Asaluyeh (20 and 47 % in autumn and spring, respectively) had expected adverse biological effects based on the suggested criterion by United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), while most stations (80 and 53 % in autumn and spring, respectively) had uncertain adverse effects.