Fourteen bed sediments samples were collected from the Euphrates River in order to determine concentrations, seasonal, spatial and contamination assessment of heavy metals such as Pb, Cd, Zn, Cu, Ni, Co, Fe, Mn and Cr. The mean concentrations are as follows: 2249.47 mg/kg for Fe, 228.18 mg/kg for Mn, 67.08 mg/kg for Ni, 58.4 mg/kg for Cr, 48.00 mg/kg for Zn, 28.16 mg/kg for Co, 22.56 mg/kg for Pb, 18.91 mg/kg for Cu and 1.87 mg/kg for Cd. To assess metal contamination in sediments, sediment quality guidelines were applied. The mean concentration of Cd, Cu, Ni, Fe, Mn, and Cr exceeded the USEPA guideline. The metal contamination in the sediments was also evaluated by appling enrichment factor (EF), contamination factor (CF), geo-accumulation index (Igeo) and pollution load index (PLI). Based on enrichment factor (EF), the Euphrates River sediments have very high enrichment for Pb, extremely high for Cd, moderate for Zn, significant to very high for Ni, very high to extremely high for Co, moderate to significant for Mn and significant to very high for Cr. According to contamination factor (CF), Cd and Cr are responsible for very high contamination. According to Igeo, the Euphrates River sediments are moderately to strongly polluted by Cd. Based on PLI, all sampling sites suggest no overall pollution of site quality.
F. Abbas, I. A. Norli, A. Aness and E. Azharmat, “Analysis of Heavy Metal Concentrations in Sediments of Selected Estuaries of Malaysia—A Statistical Assessment,” Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, Vol. 153, No. 1-4, 2009, pp.179-185. doi:10.1007/s10661-008-0347-x
R. Bettinentti, C. Giarei and A. Provini, “A Chemical Analysis and Sediment Toxicity Bioassays to Assess the Contamination of River Lambro (Northern Italy),” Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, Vol. 45, No. 1, 2003, pp. 72-78. doi:10.1007/s00244-002-0126-6
K. V. Raju, R. Somashekar and K. Prakash, “Heavy Metal Status of Sediment in River Cauvery, Karnataka,” Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, Vol. 184, No. 1, 2012, pp. 361-373. doi:10.1007/s10661-011-1973-2
M. Chakravarty and A. Patgiri, “Metal Pollution Assessment in Sediments of the Dikrong River, N. E. India,” Journal of Human Ecology, Vol. 27, No. 1, 2009, pp. 63-67.
S. Olivares-Rieumont, D. de la Rosa, L. Lima, D. Graham, K. Alessandro, J. Borroto, et al., “Assessment of Heavy Metal Levels in Almendares River Sediments—Havana City, Cuba,” Water Research, Vol. 39, No. 16, 2005, pp. 3945-3953. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2005.07.011
I. Brunner, J. Luster, M. Günthardt-Goerg and B. Frey, “Heavy Metal Accumulation and Phytostabilisation Potential of Tree Fine Roots in a Ccontamination Soil,” Environmental Pollution, Vol. 152, No. 3, 2008, pp. 559-568. doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2007.07.006
A. Idris, M. A. H. Eltayeb, S. Potgieter-Vermaak, R. Van Grieken and J. Potgieter, “Assessment of Heavy Metals Pollution in Sudanese Harbors along the Red Sea Coast,” Microchemical Journal, Vol. 87, No. 2, 2007, pp.104-112. doi:10.1016/j.microc.2007.06.004
S. Morin, T. Duong, A. Danbrin, A. Coynel, O. Herlory, M. Baudrimont, et al., “Long-Term Survey of Heavy-Metal Pollution, Biofilm Contamination and Diatom Community Structure in the Rio Mort Watershed, South-West France,” Environmental Pollution, Vol. 151, 2008, pp. 532-542. doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2007.04.023
A.-P. Zhong, S.-H. Guo, F.-M. Li, G. Li and K.-X. Jiang, “Impact of Anions on the Heavy Metals Release from Marine Sediments,” Journal of Environmental Sciences, Vol. 18, No. 6, 2006, pp. 1216-1220. doi:10.1016/S1001-0742(06)60065-X
C. Atkinson, D. Jolley and S. Simpson, “Effect of Overlying Water pH, Dissolved Oxygen, Salinity and Sediment Disturbances on Metal Release and Sequestration from Metal Contaminated Marine Sediments,” Chemosphere, Vol. 69, No. 9, 2007 , pp. 1428-1437. doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2007.04.068
P. Harikumar and T. Jisha, “Distribution Pattern of Trace Metal Pollutants in the Sediments of an Urban Wetland in the Southwest Coast of India,” International Journal of Engineering Science and Technology, Vol. 2, No. 5, 2010, pp. 840-850.
K. Mmolawa, A. Likuku and G. Gaboutloeloe, “Assessment of Heavy Metal Pollution in Soils along Roadside Areas in Botswana,” African Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, Vol. 5, No. 3, 2011, pp. 186- 196.
Y. Wang, Z. Yang, Z. Shen, Z. Tang, J. Niu and F. Gao, “Assessment of Heavy Metals in Sediments from a Typical Catchment of the Yangtze River, China,” Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, Vol. 172, No. 1-4, 2011, pp. 407-417.
T. Kassim, H. Al-Saadi, A. Al-Lami and H. Al-Jaberi, “Heavy Metals in Water, Suspended Particles, Sediments and Aquatic Plants of the Upper Region of Euphrates River, Iraq,” Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Vol. 32, No. 9-10, 1997, pp. 2497-2506. doi:10.1080/10934529709376698
A. Rabee, Y. Al-Fatlawy and A. Abd Own, “Seasonal Variation and Assessment of Heavy Metal Pollution in Sediments from Selected Stations in Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, Central Iraq,” Iraqi Journal of Science, Vol. 50, No. 4, 2009, pp. 466-475.
F. Hassan, M. Saleh and J. Salman, “A Study of Physicochemical Parameters and Nine Heavy Metals in the Euphrates River, Iraq,” E-Journal of Chemistry, Vol. 7, No. 3, 2010, pp. 685-692. doi:10.1155/2010/906837
CCME, “Canadian Water Quality Guidelines for Protection of Aquatic Life,” Technical Report, Canadian Environmental Quality Guidelines, Canadian Water Quality Index 1.0, 1999.
S. Valeria, C. Smith and A. Donovan, “Microwave Digestion for Sediment, Soil and Urban Particulate Matter for Trace Metal Analysis,” Talanta, Vol. 60, No. 4, 2003, pp. 715-723. doi:10.1016/S0039-9140(03)00131-0
H. Feng, X. Han, W. G. Zhang and L. Z. Yu, “A Preliminary Study of Heavy Metal Contamination in Yangtze River Intertidal Zone Due to Urbanization,” Marine Pollution Bulletin, Vol. 49, No. 11-12, 2004, pp. 910-915. doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2004.06.014
I. Cato, “Recent Sedimentological and Geochemical Conditions and Pollution Problems in Two Marine Areas in Southwestern Sweden,” Striae, Vol. 6, 1977, pp. 1-150.
K. Choi, S. Kim, G. Hong and H. Chon, “Distribution of Heavy Metals in the Sediments of South Korean Harbors,” Environmental Geochemical Health, Vol. 34, No. 1, 2012, pp. 71-82. doi:10.1007/s10653-011-9413-3
S. Sinex and G. Helz, “Regional Geochemistry of Trace Elements in Chesapeak Bay Sediments,” Environmental Geology, Vol. 3, No. 6, 1981, pp. 315-323. doi:10.1007/BF02473521
J. Martin and M. Meybeck, “Elemental Mass-Balance of Material Carried by Major World Rivers,” Marine Chemistry, Vol. 7, No. 3, 1979, pp. 178-206. doi:10.1016/0304-4203(79)90039-2
V. Tippie, “An Environmental Characterization of Chesa-peak Bay and a Framework for Action,” In: V. Kennedy, Ed., The Estuary as a Filter, Academic Press, New York, 1984, pp. 467-487.
D. Tomlinson, J. Wilson, C. Harris and D. Jeffrey, “Problems in the Assessment of Heavy-Metal Levels in Estuaries and the Formation of a Pollution Index,” Helgoland Marine Research, Vol. 33, No. 1-4, 1980, pp. 566-575.
G. Muller, “Index of Geoaccumulation in Sediments of the Rhine River,” GeoJournal, Vol. 2, No. 3, 1969, pp. 108-118.
G. Muller, “The Heavy Metal Pollution of the Sediments of Neckars and Its Tributary,” A Stocktaking Chemische Zeit, Vol. 150, 1981, pp. 157-164.
Z. G. Ya, L. F. Zhou, Z. Y. Bao, P. Gao and X. W. Sun, “High Efficiency of Heavy Metal Removal in Mine Water by Limestone,” Chinese Journal of Geochemistry, Vol. 28, No. 3, 2007, pp. 293-298. doi:10.1007/s11631-009-0293-5
K. Al-Bassam and L. Al-Mukhtar, “Heavy Minerals in the Sediments of the Euphrates River, in Iraq,” Iraqi Journal of Geology and Mining, Vol. 4, 2008, pp. 29-41.
K. Al-Bassam, “Environmental Factors Influencing Spatial Distribution of Cadmium in the Euphrates River Sediments in Iraq,” Iraqi Journal of Geology and Mining, Vol. 7, 2011, pp. 29-41.
L. Hakanson, “An Ecological Risk Index for Aquatic Pollution Control a Sedimentological Approaches,” Water Research, Vol. 14, No. 8, 1980, pp. 975-1001. doi:10.1016/0043-1354(80)90143-8
WHO, “Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality,” 3rd Edition, World Health Organization, 2004, p. 515.
A. Al-Juboury, “Natural Pollution by Some Heavy Metals in the Tigris River, Northern Iraq,” International Journal of Environmental Research., Vol. 31, No. 2, 2009, pp. 189-198.
A. Al-Lami and H. Al-Jaberi, “Heavy Metals in Water, Suspended Particles and Sediment of the Upper-Mid Region of Tigris River, Iraq,” Proceedings of International Symposium on Environmental Pollution Control and Waste Management, Tunis, 7-10 January 2002, pp. 97-102.
M. Nameer, A. Rabee, A. Abd Own and Y. Al-Fatlawy, “Using Pollution Load Index (PLI) and Geoaccumulation Index (Igeo) for Assessment of Heavy Metals Pollution in Tigris River Sediments in Baghdad Region,” Journal of Al-Nahrain University-Science, Vol. 14, No. 4, 2011, pp. 108-114.
R. Marathe, Y. Marathe, C. Sawant and V. Shrivastava, “Detection of Trace Metals in Surface Sediment of Tapti River: A Case Study,” Archives of Applied Science Research, Vol. 3, No. 2, 2011, pp.472-476.
P. Saha and M. Hossain, “Assessment of Heavy Metal Concentration and Sediment Quality in the Buriganga River, Bangladesh,” Internationa Proceedings of Chemical, Biological and Environmental Engineering, Singa- pore City, 26-28 February 2010, pp. VI-384 -VI-387.