Soheil Sobhanardakani; Samireh Mahmodnezhad; Masoumeh Heydari
Abstract
Background & Objective: Heavy metals being among the major pollutants of aquatic ecosystems are considered as high-toxicity pollutants for organisms due to the non-biodegradable and persistent potential in the environment. Therefore, this study was carried out to analyse the presence of heavy metals ...
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Background & Objective: Heavy metals being among the major pollutants of aquatic ecosystems are considered as high-toxicity pollutants for organisms due to the non-biodegradable and persistent potential in the environment. Therefore, this study was carried out to analyse the presence of heavy metals (Zn, Cd, Cr and Cu) in water of Marivan River in 2013. Material & Methods: In this cross-sectional study, forty samples were taken from five selected stations during spring and summer seasons in 2013. After taken samples preparation, the concentrations of metal ions were investigated by spectrophotometry with three replications. All statistical analyses were performed using the SPSS 19.0 statistical package (p<0/05). Results: The results showed that the mean concentrations of metals (µg/l) in water samples for spring season were equal to 26.20±11.34, 0.73±0.06, 1.50±0.11 and 121.10±14.05 for Zn, Cd, Cr and Cu, respectively and in water samples for summer season were equal to 27.10±24.72, 0.72±0.05, 1.50±0.16 and 123.80±31.27 for Zn, Cd, Cr and Cu, respectively. Also, the mean concentrations of the evaluated metals compared with WHO and Iran DOE permissible limits showed a significant difference (P<0.05). That is, the mean concentrations of Zn, Cd, Cr and Cu were significantly lower than the permissible limits in both spring and summer seasons. Conclusion: Although the water of Marivan River was not contaminated to heavy metals during the study period. But due to the establishment and development of industrial, urban and agricultural activities along the river and its uncontrolled discharges of wastewater into the river, pollution and decrease of water quality in the near future is not unexpected.