Assessment of heavy metal contamination and health risk in the coastal sediments of Suez Bay, Gulf of Suez, Egypt

Urban and industrial wastewaters, and the weathering of rocks are the main anthropogenic and natural sources of heavy metals (HMs) in coastal worldwide environments. The present work examined the content, distribution, potential sources, and ecological risks of HM contamination in the coastal sediments of Suez Bay, Egypt. Six pollution and health risk indices and multivariate statistical tools were applied. The ranges of HMs (mu g/g) were in order: Fe (239-983), Mn (4.70-189), Cr (1.75-19.49), Co (0.04-12.87), Zn (0.78-15.57), Ni (0.78-10.90), Cu (0.23-7.53), Pb (0.74-6.92), Cd (0.10-0.97), and Hg (0.11-0.89). The results of pollution load index (PLI) and modified contamination degree (mC(deg)) indicated that the Suez Bay area seems to be free from pollution. However, some individual sites recorded high concentrations of Cd and Hg, which might be attributed to the presence of some ports, industrial activities, sewage, shipbuilding workshops and heavy traffic of commercial ships. Moreover, the assessment of the carcinogenicity risks by dermal absorption was in order Cr > Pb > Cd for adults and children. However, the study area does not suffer from any potential carcinogenic risk because the total cancer risk (LCR) was less than 1 x 10(-6).

Automated summary

This study examined the content, distribution, potential sources, and ecological risks of heavy metal contamination in the coastal sediments of Suez Bay, Egypt. The results indicated that the area is generally free from pollution, although there are high concentrations of Cd and Hg in some individual sites. The assessment of carcinogenic risks showed no potential risk in the study area.