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Elemental composition of bottom-sediments from Pangani river basin, Tanzania

Journal Contribution - Journal Article

Subtitle:lithogenic and anthropogenic sources
River-bed sediments from the Pangani basin, Tanzania, were characterized for elemental compositions, following contamination risks from rapid expansions of human activities in the area. Samples were collected during two individual seasons and analyzed by high-polarizing beam energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) for eight major and 14 trace elements. Evaluation of enrichment factors (EFs) was used to investigate the elemental flux and assess the contributions of natural and anthropogenic influences. The abundances of the major elements followed the order Si > Al > Fe > Ca > K > Ti > Mn > P, similar to that of the upper earth's crust, and were generally from the weathering of the bed-rock. The high concentrations of typical anthropogenic trace-elements (Cr < 160 mg kg−1, V < 85 mg kg−1, Ni < 60 mg kg−1, Cu < 87 mg kg−1, La < 90 mg kg−1) coupled with high EFs (>2) in some locations indicated contamination associated with agricultural and industrial activities. Factor analysis extracted five principal components that contributed to 96.0% of the total observed variance. The results indicated that river-bed sediments of the Pangani basin were influenced to a larger extent by lithogenic sources than anthropogenic impacts.
Journal: Toxicological and environmental chemistry
ISSN: 0277-2248
Volume: 94
Pages: 525 - 544
Publication year:2012
Keywords:A1 Journal article
BOF-keylabel:yes
BOF-publication weight:0.5
CSS-citation score:1
Authors:International
Authors from:Higher Education
Accessibility:Closed