EVALUATION OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL STATE OF THE WESTERN SECTOR OF SEPETIBA BAY (SE BRAZIL): TRACE METAL CONTAMINATION

Sepetiba Bay located in Rio de Janeiro State (RJ), Southeast Brazil, is a region under heavy influence of seaports and mining. This feature puts at risk the quality of the local water system, especially due to the deposition of trace metals on the sediments. This work aimed to report the values of total concentrations of Ag, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Li, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sr, Zn and Hg obtained in bottom surface sediments collected in Nov/2010 in the Western sector of Sepetiba Bay, through the Plasma Spectrometer (ICP-OES). The average concentrations of Ag (0.40 mu g/g), Cd (0.76 mu g/g), Cu (62.59 mu g/g), Li (43.29 mu g/g), Ni (16.65 mu g/g), Pb (20.08 mu g/g), Sr (389.64 mu g/g) and Zn (184.2 mu g/g) exceeded the limits allowed by Brazilian legislation, and are, in addition, above the natural values found in Ribeira Bay (RJ), the considered control region. It is necessary to monitor this area, due to its economic and environmental importance.