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(Reference retrieved automatically from Web of Science through information on FAPESP grant and its corresponding number as mentioned in the publication by the authors.)

Multi-elemental contamination and historic record in sediments from the Santos-Cubatão Estuarine System, Brazil

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Author(s):
Luiz-Silva, Wanilson [1] ; Machado, Wilson [2] ; Matos, Rosa H. R.
Total Authors: 3
Affiliation:
[1] Univ Estadual Campinas, Inst Geociencias, BR-13083970 Campinas, SP - Brazil
[2] Univ Fed Fluminense, Dept Geoquim, BR-24020150 Niteroi, RJ - Brazil
Total Affiliations: 2
Document type: Journal article
Source: Journal of the Brazilian Chemical Society; v. 19, n. 8, p. 1490-1500, 2008.
Web of Science Citations: 30
Abstract

This paper records for the first time the contamination history and identifies the sources of 38 elements in sediments from the Santos-Cubatão Estuarine System (SE Brazil), at one of the most industrialized areas in Latin America. The compositions of samples from a 260 cm long sediment core collected in the Morrão River estuary were determined by ICP-MS. Enrichment factors, principal component analysis, correlation matrixes, and the characterization of geochemical signatures permitted a consistent data evaluation. Contaminant elements such as Cr, Mn, Ni, Zn, Ga, Ag, Cd, Sn, Sb, Pb, and Bi were associated with steel plant-derived Fe concentrations, while Be, Ca, Sc, Co, Cu, Sr, Y, Zr, Nb, Hf, Ta, Th, and U were associated with fertilizer industry-derived P concentrations. An overlap of sedimentary Fe distribution and local steel plant production indicated that Fe is a reliable marker of the contamination history, allowing the estimation of sedimentation rates over a period of 45 years of industrial activities. (AU)