Evaluate Sediment Contamination with some Heavy Metals. A Case Study of the Al-Gharraf River in Wasit, Iraq

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the amount of heavy metal pollution in the Al Garraf River sediment in Wasit, Iraq. Seven samples were gathered from the Al-Gharraf River in July 2021. GPS was used to determine the geographic location of these samples. The pollution level in the Al Gharraf River sediments caused by manganese, chromium, cadmium, cobalt, zinc, nickel, copper, and lead pollution indices such as enrichment factor, geo-accumulation, contamination factor, and pollution load were used to analyze the situation. Although geo-accumulation has mostly been used to evaluate contamination in freshwater sediment, one of the most frequently utilized factors is an enrichment to quantify to determine degrees of anthropogenic contamination and ratios of enrichment. On the other hand, the pollution load index is calculated as the number of times the concentration of heavy metals in sediments exceeds the concentration and level and is used for estimating the total amount of toxicity of heavy metals in samples. At the same time, our study discovered that cadmium is heavily polluted (contamination value is 5.70) in Al Gharraf River sediments, while nickel (1.51) and lead (1.75) are moderately polluted, but that the metals manganese, cobalt, chromium, zinc, and copper are not.

Assessment of Some Trace Elements in Surface Water and Soil near Al-Ahdab Oil Field, Wasit Governorate, Iraq

“…In addition to existing as individual minerals in the remains of weathering-resistant rocks and as crystal structure constituents of other minerals (such mica, chlorite, and dark minerals), heavy metals can travel great distances in rivers in a variety of ways [2]. The over-dependence on fossil fuels and improper utilization of the planet's resources has caused in various environmental problems, such as groundwater, surface water, and soil contamination [3].…”