Speciation of Some Heavy Metals in Sediments of the Pennington River, Bayelsa State, Nigeria

Abstract

The total heavy metal concentrations of some environmentally toxic metals in sediments of the Pennington River System, Bayelsa state, Nigeria was examined. The concentrations of heavy metals in each fraction were determined using a ANALYST 400 Perkin-Elmer AAS. The mean concentrations (mg/kg) for the six metals in dry season sediment samples were: 0.14±0.17(As), 0.39±0.55(Co), 2.43±5.06(Cu), 26.82±22.19(Fe), 0.69±1.10(Pb), and 1.22±1.19(Zn), while the mean metal concentrations (mg/kg) in wet season samples were:0.11±0.18(As),0.37±0.6(Co), 2.07±4.35(Cu), 26.65±24.79(Fe), 0.61±1.08(Pb), and 1.11±1.00(Zn) respectively. Speciation study applying the five-stage sequential extraction scheme revealed that As, Co, and Pb in sediment prevails mostly in exchangeable fraction. Cu and Zn were more prevalent in residual fraction, while Fe was found more in residual and Fe/Mn-Oxide fractions. In an attempt to infer anthropogenic input from natural input, comparison with sediment quality guideline (SQGs) and ecotoxicological sense of heavy metal contamination was employed. The concentration of the studied heavy metals in Pennington River System does not pose a threat to the sediment dwelling fauna and anyone who consumes aquatic animals, particularly fish, from the Pennington River. According to SQGs, the studied heavy metals of the Pennington River sediments were under the category of non-polluted.