04. Assessing the accumulation of heavy metals in sediments of Ma River in Thanh Hoa province

Abstract

This study aims to assess the accumulation of some heavy metals in sediments of Ma River in Thanh Hoa province. Sediment samples were collected at 15 sites along the river from January to May 2021 for analysing the concentration of Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd and Cr. The results showed that the concentrations of heavy metals were 0.06 - 0.71 mgCd/kg dry sediment, 16.3 - 102.0 mgPb/ kg dry sediment, 15.2 - 77.6 mgCr/ kg dry sediment, 15.5 - 123.2 mgCu/ kg dry sediment, 27.8 - 233.4 mgZn/ kg dry sediment. The levels ​​of Cu, Cd, Cr and Zn in Ma River’s sediment were lower than levels regulated in the QCVN 43:2017/BTNMT. The concentrations of heavy metals at most sampling sites were found to range in the TEC - PEC range, as compared to US - EPA standards. Assessing the accumulation of some heavy metals in sediments by I_geo index showed that most studied sites were no or low heavy mental pollution. This indicated that the levels of heavy metal pollution in sediments along Ma River in Thanh Hoa province were low.