Source apportionment and associated potential ecological risk assessment of heavy metals in coastal marine sediments samples in Ondo, Southwest, Nigeria

• Published in: Stochastic environmental research and risk assessment 2020-11, Vol.34 (11), p.2013-2022
• Main Authors: Ogundele, Lasun T., Ayeku, Patrick O.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anthropogenic factors; Aquatic ecosystems; Aquatic environment; Aquatic Pollution; Atomic absorption analysis; Atomic absorption spectroscopy; Atomic beam spectroscopy; Cadmium; Chemistry and Earth Sciences; Chromium; Computational Intelligence; Computer Science; Copper; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Ecological risk assessment; Environment; Food chains; Heavy metals; Industrial wastes; Iron; Lead; Manganese; Marine environment; Marine sediments; Math. Appl. in Environmental Science; Metal concentrations; Metals; Nickel; Oil and gas exploration; Oil exploration; Original Paper; Physics; Pollutants; Probability Theory and Stochastic Processes; Receptors; Risk assessment; Sediments; Sludge; Spectral analysis; Statistics for Engineering; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control
• ISSN: 1436-3240; 1436-3259
• DOI: 10.1007/s00477-020-01848-3

Heavy metals are released into the sediments in aquatic environment from both natural and anthropogenic sources and they are considered as worldwide issue due to their deleterious ecological risks and food chain disruption. In this study, sediments samples were collected at three major sites (Awoye, Abereke and Ayetoro) along Ondo coastal marine area using VanVeen grab sampler. The concentrations of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, V and Zn were determined by employing Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS). The combined concentrations data were subjected to Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) receptor approach for source identification and apportionment. The probable risks that might be posed by heavy metals in the sediment were estimated by potential and integrated ecological risks indices. Among the measured heavy metals, Fe had the average concentrations of 20.38 ± 2.86, 23.56 ± 4.16 and 25.32 ± 4.83 µg/g at Abereke, Awoye and Ayetoro sites, respectively. The PMF resulted in identification of four sources of heavy metals in the sediments. The resolved sources and their percentage contributions were oil exploration (39%), industrial waste/sludge (35%), detrital process (18%) and Mn-sources (8%). Oil exploration activities and industrial wastes are the major sources that contribute heavy metals into the coastal sediments. The major pollutants that posed ecological risks to the local aquatic ecosystem are As, Pb, Cr and Cd (40 ≤  E r i