Trace metals in sediments from bahia de Chetumal, Mexico

Bay of Chetumal, an important habitat for the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus), is located southeast of the Yucatan Peninsula on the border between Mexico and Belize (Lock, 1997). It is a shallow estuarine coastal lagoon with several freshwater inputs from rivers, the main being the Rio Hond...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bulletin of environmental contamination and toxicology 2003-06, Vol.70 (6), p.1228-1234
Main Authors: GARCIA-RIOS, V, GOLD-BOUCHOT, G
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Environmental Monitoring
Exact sciences and technology
Fresh Water - chemistry
Geologic Sediments - chemistry
Marine
Metals, Heavy - analysis
Mexico
Pollution
Pollution sources. Measurement results
Soil and sediments pollution
Trace metals
Trichechidae
Trichechus manatus
Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Bay of Chetumal, an important habitat for the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus), is located southeast of the Yucatan Peninsula on the border between Mexico and Belize (Lock, 1997). It is a shallow estuarine coastal lagoon with several freshwater inputs from rivers, the main being the Rio Hondo that sets the border between the two countries. The influence of the Caribbean Sea is limited to the southeastern area. There are pollution problems in the Bay, such as inputs of urban sewage (Ortiz and Saenz, 1997), the presence of organochlorine pesticides used in agricultural areas (mainly sugar cane) on the margins of Rio Hondo (Euan-Avila et al, 2002), and hydrocarbon inputs through sewage from the city of Chetumal, and outboard motor activities. The distribution of organochlorine compounds (pesticides and PCBs) and hydrocarbons in sediments has been described (Norena-Barroso et al., 1998), and the toxicity of sediments established (Zapata-Perez et al., 2000). The objective of this study was to evaluate the concentrations and speciation of seven heavy metals (Zn, Pb, Ni, Cu, Cd, Fe and V) in the sediments of the bay, as a contribution to the knowledge and rational management of the bay.
ISSN:0007-4861
1432-0800
DOI:10.1007/s00128-003-0113-2