Heavy metal concentrations in water and sediments from affluents and effluents of mediterranean chilean reservoirs

• SYLVIA V COPAJA ^[1] ; VESNA R NUÑEZ ^[1] ; GIGLIOLA S MUÑOZ ^[1] ; GEISSY L GONZÁLEZ ^[1] ; IRMA VILA ^[1] ; DAVID VÉLIZ ^[1]
  1. [1] Universidad de Chile

     Universidad de Chile

     Santiago, Chile

     
• Localización: Journal of the Chilean Chemical Society (Boletín de la Sociedad Chilena de Química), ISSN-e 0717-6309, ISSN 0366-1644, Vol. 61, Nº. 1, 2016, págs. 2797-2804
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • RIVER flows have constant interaction between water and bed sediments; for this reason knowledge of the characteristics of the sediments is fundamental to understand water chemistry. This study determined the concentrations of heavy metals in water and sediments in the affluents and the effluents of the MediterraneanChilean reservoirs Cogotí, Corrales, La Paloma, and Recoleta. We explore possible ecological risk and toxicity using the enrichment factor (EF), risk assessmentcode (RAC), threshold effect concentrations (TEC) and probable effect concentrations (PEC). The results showed that five metals: Al, Fe, Cu, Mn and Zn out of the ten measured metals were detected in both surface water and the sediments. The risk assessment code (RAC) suggested that Fe represents a medium risk in the affluent of Cogotí Reservoir: Cu, Zn and Mn represent a medium to high risk in all the dams and in both zones (affluents and effluents). The enrichment factor(EF) determined that the five metals were lithogenic. Fe, Cu, and Mn are the elements that present the greatest toxicity to microorganisms in these aquatic systems.