Heavy metals contaminant evaluation in sediments of Khour-e-Musa creeks, northwest of Persian Gulf

Surface sediments contamination to heavy metals was evaluated in eight creeks of Mahshahr coastal waters (north-west of the Persian Gulf) from October. 2005 to November 2006. Sediments were collected seasonally by Peterson grab and the concentrations of heavy metals were measured using voltammetry and polarography methods. The range and the mean concentrations obtained in mg/kg were 15.03-35.16 (27.01) for Cu, 65.57-171.41 (102.67) for Ni, 4.63-20.06 (13.22) for Co, 0.093-0.78 (0.22) for Hg, 65.07-379 (113.70) for Zn, 0.27-1.00 (0.56) for Cd and 7.09-29.72 (14.66) for Pb. The background values for different heavy metals were calculated and the contamination factor for each metal and the degree of contamination for each creek were determined as well. Measured concentrations were compared with international standards. According to the contamination factor (Cf), the concentration of some elements such as Hg, Zn, and Ni were at risk level; according to the degree of contamination (Cd), all of the studied creeks could be classified as moderately polluted except for Ghannam that showed a considerable degree of contamination.