The evaluation of mercury contamination in the sediments of intertidal creeks of Mahshahr

Heavy metals, especially mercury due to its toxicity, persistence and the impact on aquatic organisms is important in terms of public health noteworthy. This study aimed to assess mercury concentrations in surface sediments of estuaries Mahshahr, Khuzestan province, eight stations were selected and three sediment samples were collected from each station. Sampling operations were conducted in January 2016. After laboratory analysis, the content of mercury using cold vapor atomic absorption technique was measured. The average concentration of mercury in sediments of stations studied in the range of 90-490 was nanogram per gram. High levels of mercury were found in petrochemical estuary and with increasing distance from this estuary, the pollution of the gradually decreased. In general, the calculation for regional factor pollution, pollution is too severe for most stations showed, while According to global factor pollution was low to moderate.