Resumen

GUILLAMA BARROSO, Gileydis et al. EVALUATION OF THE CONTAMINATION BY As, Ni, Cu, Pb, Zn AND Cr IN SEDIMENTS OF THE MARINE-COASTAL ZONE ASSOCIATED WITH THE NUEVITAS MARITIME TERMINAL, CUBA. Rev. Int. Contam. Ambient [online]. 2022, vol.38, 54080.  Epub 09-Nov-2022. ISSN 0188-4999.  https://doi.org/10.20937/rica.54080.

In studies of contamination by trace elements in aquatic environments, sediments constitute a key line, since by acting as traps for numerous compounds they behave as secondary sources of contamination in the marine environment, thus affecting the ecological and biogeochemical balance of the ecosystem. Due to the existing lack of knowledge about the concentration levels of pollution indicator elements in the sediments of the marine-coastal zone associated with the Nuevitas maritime terminal (Cuba), the objective of this research was to evaluate the contamination by As, Ni, Cu, Pb, Zn and Cr in sediments from that area by determining the total content, comparing it direcly to reference concentrations established in international sediment quality guidelines, and using enrichment indices. The sediments were collected during May 2016 in six stations with influence of the maritime terminal, and digested according to the EPA 3052 method. Atomic emission spectroscopy with an inductively coupled plasma source was used as a detection technique. The evaluation of the total content in sediments showed that the order of abundance of the analyzed elements was Cr > Zn > Ni > Pb > Cu > As. Concentrations that exceed the corresponding probable effect level (PEL) for most of the studied elements were detected In the sediments of stations E1, E3 and E5. Cr and Ni showed higher levels than those causing moderate biological effects (ERM). Through the enrichment factors it was verified that Ni levels in the sediments are due to natural causes and that there is a moderately severe or severe Cr enrichment in the sediments of stations E1, E3, E6 and E5, evidencing the anthropic character of such contamination.

Palabras llave : metals; metalloids; pollution; marine sediments.

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