Geochemical assessment of sediment in Cape Town harbour, South Africa

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Geochemical assessment of marine sediments collected from Cape Town harbour was carried out using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry, Fourier-Transform-infrared and X-ray diffractrometry techniques. The clay mineral phase consists of biotites, kaolinites and halites. The ranges of concentrations (mg/kg) of trace metals were: Cd (1.69±0.075 -0.080±0.002), Si (0.37±0.11 -0.023±0.012), Fe (30.01±2.04 -2.23±0.12), Cu (1462±39 -1.51±0.11), Al (19.92±2.24 -1.25±0.13), Sn (63.98±4.97 -1.15±0.38), Pb (252±29 -8.73±1.06), Hg (1.002±0.168 -0.049±0.005) and Zn (1.26±0.07 -0.022±0.004) mg kg -1 . The enrichment factors of Sn, Pb, Zn, Fe, Cd, Al and Hg revealed anthropogenic inputs of these metals into the marine environment. The enrichment factor of Cu was less than 1 and this suggests that its presence was largely due to natural changes. The results are indications of the contributions of trace metals contained in the runoffs from the domestic and urban drains, as well as the inflow storm water. Ship repair activities appeared to constitute a major factor responsible for the higher metal contamination in the dockyard areas. The geomineral analyses revealed the presence of quartz, pyrite, and calcite and carrolite minerals as the main constituents of the marine sediments.

Amphiphilic Polymer Platforms: Surface Engineering of Films for Marine Antibiofouling

“…Marine biofouling has been controlled for almost 50 years by the use of antifouling paints based on derivatives of tributyltin (TBT), a broad‐spectrum biocide introduced in the marine coating industry in the late 1950s . TBT has been proved to be highly toxic toward non‐target aquatic organisms and damage the marine environment . The negative effects of TBT forced many governments to restrict its use and its ban came in force in 2008 .…”

Fractionation, mobility and multivariate statistical evaluation of metals in marine sediments of Cape Town Harbour, South Africa

“…Heavy metal pollution is a serious and wide spread environmental problem due to the persistence and non-biodegradability of these pollutants (Yuan et al, 2004;Fatoki et al, 2012;Okoro et al, 2014). The levels of heavy metals in the environment have increased during the last few decades due to human activities (Wang et al, 2001).…”

METAL-ORGANIC FRAMEWORKS (MOFs) DERIVED FROM CARBOXYLATE LIGAND AS POTENTIAL MATERIALS FOR REMEDIATION OF Cu (II) AND Pb (II) FROM AQUEOUS SOLUTION

“…The contamination of both terrestrial systems and water bodies by toxic materials like heavy metals is a well known problem due to their hazardous and dangerous potentials when ingested into the system of human body (1)(2)(3). It is an indisputable fact that this pollution is largely due to the high level of urbanization and technological advancement (4,5) and others may include population density, industrialization, and mechanization that makes available the necessities and needs of the increasing population (6)(7)(8)(9). They are generally carried into food web leaches from dump sites, contaminated soil to plants and water bodies.…”