Collected reprints: Abstract 3112
Collected reprints
Abstract
Panutrakul, S.; Baeyens, W. (1991). Behaviour of heavy metals in a mud flat of the Scheldt estuary, Belgium. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 22(3): 128-134
The Ballasplaat intertidal mud flat in the Scheldt estuary has been polluted by Cd and Pb and also high amounts of organic matter as a result of suspended matter deposition. The degree of pollution is, however, not uniform over the mud flat due to varying physico-chemical conditions (essentially variable redox profiles). Measurements of the redox profile, and the metal concentrations in the pore water, the total sediment and the fraction <63 µm combined with sequential extraction results and enrichment factors can explain the behaviour of Cd, Pb, Fe and Mn in the sediments. In a strong anoxic sediment, where sulphate reducing bacteria are active, the heavy metals are trapped as poorly soluble metal complexes while in an oxic or suboxic sediment metals tend to be redissolved due to the oxidation of organic matter, and the reduction of particulate Fe and Mn oxyhydroxides. The transportation of heavy metals across the sediment water interface is very much depending upon the physiochemical conditions of the sediment.
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