“…It is a fact that the sediments transported by rivers play a key role in the absorption of trace metals and the ability of sediments to associate with metal species is related to the different geological materials of the drainage basin of origin (Chen et al, 2000;Luiz-Silva et al, 2002;Hortellani et al, 2008). In Brazil, several metal accumulation studies have sought to establish the geochemical basis for the assessment of natural and/or anthropogenic metal loads that may potentially reach the coastal environments in areas subject to urban and industrial pressure variables (Barcellos and Lacerda, 1994;Baptista et al, 2000;De Carvalho Gomes et al, 2009;Aprile and Bouvy, 2008;Luiz-Silva et al, 2002;Hortellani et al, 2008). However, only few studies related to this theme have been conducted in some impacted basins in the semiarid region of the Brazilian northeast (Marins et al, 2004;Sabadini-Santos et al, 2009;Passos et al, 2011).…”