THE CORRELATION BETWEEN THE CONTENTS OF SOME HEAVY METALS WITH COASTAL SEDIMENT PARTICLE SIZE

Abstract

Contents of four heavy metals including As, Cd, Cr and Pb were determined in 72 coastal sediment samples in the Mekong Delta. Their correlation with sediment particle size in particular Median size (Md) and the Mean has been studied. The research results indicated that, the values of Md and Mean are closely correlated with the contents of heavy metals. For powder samples, the correlation was negative. It means when the particle size increases, the contents of heavy metals decrease. For clay samples, correlation was positive, when the particle size increases, the contents of heavy metal increase.