The impact of an industrially contaminated lake on heavy metal levels in its effluent stream

Abstract

Levels of cadmium and zinc in various components of Williamson Ditch (an industrially contaminated stream flowing into Palestine Lake), Trimble Creek (a stream draining Palestine Lake) and the Tippecance River (a river receiving Trimble Creek) were determined. Water, sediment, plant, fish and clam samples were analyzed for cadmium and zinc content by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Unweighted mean metal concentrations in Trimble Creek were the following: water, 51 sug Zn/ I and 4.2 g Cd/ 1; sediment, 592 g Zn/ g and 48.8 ug Cd/ g; plants, 375 MAm Zn/ g and 7.91 Mg Cd/g;, fish, 145 Mg Zn/g and 6.o2 Mg Cd/g. These concentrations were generally lower than those found in Williamson Ditch and higher than those found in the Tippecanoe River or background levels previously reported for other aquatic ecosystems.

Metal Pollution Indices of Surface Sediment and Water from the Upper Reaches of Sombriero River, Niger Delta, Nigeria

“…Sediment samples were air dried at 40 o C for 48hours and sieved with a 1.0mm US standard sieve. 0.5g each of the samples was digested by the nitirc acid-perchloric acid method described by Adams et al (1980), while the water samples were treated after the method of Okafor and Opuene (2007). Aliquot portions were analysed for the heavy metals with Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer Buck Scientific 200A.…”

The effects of short-term acute cadmium exposure on blue tilapia,Oreochromis aureus

“…Also, accumulations vary considerably between fish species, e.g. from 0.66pg Cd g-' in Notemigomus crysoleucas (Adams et al 1980) to 8.OOpg Cd g-' in Lepomis microfophus (Murphy et al 1978). Both species were from the same area in a highly polluted lake.…”