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Risk assessment of heavy metal pollution in water, sediment and plants in the Nile River in the Cairo region, Egypt

Afify D.G. Al-Afify
Afify D.G. Al-Afify
 and 
Amaal M Abdel-Satar
Amaal M Abdel-Satar
   | Mar 06, 2020
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Article Category: Research Article
Published Online: Mar 06, 2020
Page range: 1 - 12
Received: Jun 17, 2019
Accepted: Aug 28, 2019
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/ohs-2020-0001
© 2020 Faculty of Oceanography and Geography, University of Gdańsk, Poland
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Figure 1

Map of the Nile River showing the sampling sites (after Al-Afify et al. 2018)
Map of the Nile River showing the sampling sites (after Al-Afify et al. 2018)

Figure 2

Contamination index values (Cd) of the Nile River according to a) WHO and b) EWQS criteria
Contamination index values (Cd) of the Nile River according to a) WHO and b) EWQS criteria

Figure 3

I-geo values for metals in the Nile sediment
I-geo values for metals in the Nile sediment

Figure 4

mCd values for different sites in the Nile sediment
mCd values for different sites in the Nile sediment

Figure 5

ER values for different sites in the Nile sediment
ER values for different sites in the Nile sediment

Figure 6

Average distribution of metals in E. crassipes and C. demersum in the Nile River in the Cairo region
Average distribution of metals in E. crassipes and C. demersum in the Nile River in the Cairo region

Figure 7

Average BCF in E. crassipes and C. demersum in the Nile River in the Cairo region
Average BCF in E. crassipes and C. demersum in the Nile River in the Cairo region

E r i $E.{r}^{i}$ranges and the average contribution (%) to the ecological risk

Mn Zn Cu Ni Co Pb Cd Cr
Min. 0.59 0.37 1.71 5.45 0.22 0.82 52.73 0.63
Max 2.90 1.01 4.82 19.19 0.82 4.24 103.64 2.52
Contribution (%) 1.5 0.6 3.5 10.7 0.5 2.0 80.0 1.2

Correlation between the elements in water and sediments of the Nile River in the Cairo region

Water
Fe Mn Zn Cu Ni Co Pb Cd Cr
Fe 1.00
Mn −0.02 1.00
Zn −0.30 −0.24 1.00
Cu 0.20 0.05 0.19 1.00
Ni −0.13 0.23 0.07 −0.20 1.00
Co −0.29 0.13 0.27 −0.09 0.75

*Correlation is significant at p < 0.01; n = 32

 1.00
Pb 0.17 0.07 0.14 0.66

*Correlation is significant at p < 0.01; n = 32

 −0.46 −0.40 1.00
Cd −0.06 −0.06 0.09 −0.01 −0.02 0.12 −0.11 1.00
Cr −0.20 0.15 0.19 −0.21 0.83

*Correlation is significant at p < 0.01; n = 32

 0.73

*Correlation is significant at p < 0.01; n = 32

 −0.41 0.15 1.00

Seasonal variation of heavy metals (μg l−1) compared with different criteria and HPI values in the Nile water in the Cairo region

Autumn Winter Spring Summer CCME (2007) WHO (2011) EWQS (2007)
Fe Range 642.0–1090.0 775.0–1300.0 403.0–862.0 196.0–690.0 300 1000 300
Mean±SD 869.0±169.6 1005.8±166.4 566.6±142.7 433.25±165.13
Mn Range 97.81–234.81 96.46–287.68 90.79–161.5 87.33–121.24 - 400 100
Mean±SD 152.2±44.7 191.7±61.9 124.9±25.0 97.9±10.5
Ni Range 9.54–20.54 11.89–26.47 9.04–25.41 8.45–17.68 65 70 20
Mean±SD 12.79±3.87 16.51±5.32 16.48±5.78 11.94±3.19
Co Range 4.85–20.54 6.95–22.63 9.51–24.35 8.45–21.35 1 - -
Mean±SD 13.45±5.30 14.75±5.30 16.39±5.85 13.99±4.83
Zn Range 22.56–75.48 28.91–98.56 24.35–36.55 18.34–42.18 30 4000 3000
Mean±SD 38.97±17.34 38.97±17.34 31.74±4.58 29.87±9.49
Cu Range 6.45–18.40 6.15–19.42 7.05–14.12 5.12–9.45 2 2000 2000
Mean±SD 11.71±4.14 10.44±4.48 10.65±3.10 7.47±1.38
Cr Range 9.47–17.96 8.79–20.68 10.69–21.34 9.75–16.58 - 50 50
Mean±SD 12.28±3.03 13.99±3.72 14.24±3.84 12.42±2.12
Pb Range 5.75–12.45 4.15–12.15 4.01–9.85 3.15–18.47 2 10 10
Mean±SD 9.18±2.18 7.26±2.72 6.13±1.89 9.65±5.60
Cd Range 1.98–2.98 1.45–2.98 1.75–3.15 1.98–3.84 0.18

according to CCME (2014)

 3 3
Mean±SD 2.35±0.37 2.26±0.54 2.40±0.55 2.79±0.69
HPI

according to WHO (2011);

 Range 61.3–96.3 46.8–88.7 56.6–96.7 64.3–104.2
HPI

according to EWQS (2007);

 Range 64.3–99.0 53.3–90.4 64.3–96.7 66.4–104.1

Enrichment factor for the studied elements in the Nile River in the Cairo region

Mn Zn Cu Ni Co Pb Cr Cd
Autumn Range 0.35–1.54 0.17–0.70 0.33–0.65 0.78–1.96 0.06–0.22 0.10–0.38 0.15–0.57 0.87–2.21
Mean±SD 0.95±0.34 0.38±0.17 0.43±0.11 1.22±0.47 0.14±0.06 0.18±0.09 0.31±0.14 1.54±0.57
Winter Range 0.66–1.82 0.44–0.88 0.55–0.79 1.15–3.03 0.13–0.34 0.23–0.76 0.34–0.99 1.76–2.81
Mean±SD 1.34±0.36 0.56±0.15 0.65±0.09 2.03±0.74 0.23±0.08 0.46±0.20 0.56±0.23 2.22±0.42
Spring Range 1.16–2.21 0.49–0.91 0.53–0.81 1.18–2.95 0.11–0.35 0.23–0.73 0.32–0.97 2.02–3.35
Mean±SD 1.57±0.38 0.66±0.16 0.68±0.11 2.06±0.68 0.21±0.08 0.46±0.18 0.58±0.22 2.64±0.57
Summer Range 0.58–1.14 0.43–0.66 0.30–0.73 1.44–3.16 0.15–0.37 0.13–0.37 0.29–1.10 2.05–3.42
Mean±SD 0.75±0.16 0.52±0.07 0.48±0.15 2.15±0.61 0.24±0.08 0.23±0.07 0.61±0.27 2.79±0.47

Heavy metals distribution (μg g−1) compared with EPA (2006), contamination factor (Cf) and PLI values in the Nile sediment in the Cairo region.

Metal Autumn Winter Spring Summer EPA (2006) Cf
Fe Range 27154–53468 18238–25014 17548–26481 17185–25678 20000 0.86–2.67
Mean±SD 38858 ± 9784 22774 ± 2166 21121 ± 2878 19217 ± 2862 1.27±0.47
Mn Range 283.0–1334.0 339.0–988.0 273.0–456.0 512.0–984.0 460 0.59–2.90
Mean±SD 849.3 ± 354.4 708.0 ± 215.2 326.8 ± 58.5 754.4 ± 174.4 1.43±0.64
Zn Range 45.00–122.45 58.70–120.00 46.32–70.00 62.40–97.50 121 0.37–1.01
Mean±SD 84.44 ± 27.82 77.34 ± 19.69 60.06 ± 8.54 83.66 ± 12.05 0.63±0.17
Cu Range 18.70–30.45 19.50–27.89 19.85–25.91 10.80–20.15 31.6 0.34–0.96
Mean±SD 25.49 ± 4.24 23.61 ± 2.77 22.58 ± 2.20 14.31 ± 3.22 0.68±0.17
Ni Range 28.38–87.12 27.95–80.52 24.75–72.85 32.52–67.85 22.7 1.09–3.84
Mean±SD 50.44 ± 20.19 50.94 ± 19.39 47.94 ± 16.75 45.06 ± 13.23 2.14±0.74
Co Range 7.19–19.50 7.40–20.45 5.40–17.85 7.56–17.64 50 0.11–0.41
Mean±SD 13.06 ± 4.11 12.95 ± 4.92 11.20 ± 4.00 11.27 ± 3.65 0.24±0.08
Cr Range 16.85–54.65 18.96–52.56 13.67–48.97 14.52–47.52 43.4 0.31–1.26
Mean±SD 25.27 ± 12.83 28.11 ± 12.93 26.85 ± 11.37 25.44 ± 11.23 0.61±0.27
Pb Range 6.52–18.41 9.50–25.12 10.00–30.33 5.86–11.50 35.8 0.16–0.85
Mean±SD 12.12 ± 4.23 16.82 ± 4.47 18.83 ± 8.18 7.85 ± 1.83 0.39±0.18
Cd Range 2.05–3.19 1.74–3.21 1.86–3.42 2.14–3.24 0.99 1.76–3.45
Mean±SD 2.75 ± 0.45 2.51 ± 0.53 2.74 ± 0.50 2.62 ± 0.40 2.68±0.46
PLI Range 0.76–1.08 0.72–1.05 0.73–0.97 0.56–0.73

Geoaccumulation index (I-geo), enrichment factor (EF) and modified contamination factor for elements and contamination levels

Index
Geoaccumulation index (I-geo) Enrichment factor (EF) Modified contamination degree (mCd)
Class no. I-geo value Contamination level EF value Contamination level mCd value Contamination level
0 I-geo ≤ 0 practically unpolluted 1 < EF < 3 minor enrichment mCd < 1.5 nil pollution
1 0 < I-geo < 1 unpolluted to moderately polluted 3 < EF < 5 moderate enrichment 1.5 ≤ mCd < 2 low pollution
2 1 < I-geo < 2 moderately polluted 5 < EF < 10 moderately severe enrichment 2 ≤ mCd < 4 moderate pollution
3 2 < I-geo < 3 moderately to heavily polluted 10 < EF < 25 severe enrichment 4 ≤ mCd < 8 high pollution
4 3 < I-geo < 4 heavily polluted 25 < EF < 50 very severe enrichment 8 ≤ mCd < 16 very high pollution
5 4 < I-geo < 5 heavily to extremely polluted EF ≥ 50 ultra-high 16 ≤ mCd < 32 extremely high pollution
6 I-geo ≥ 5 extremely polluted mCd ≥32 ultra-high pollution

Main characteristics* of the Nile River water in the Cairo region

Variable Range Mean ± SD
Transparency (cm) 35–150 86.97 ± 25.63
Depth (m) 1–10 4.02 ± 0.82
Dissolved oxygen (DO) (mg l−1) 4.0–10.26 8.02 ± 1.36
pH 7.32–8.81 8.02 ± 0.30
Alkalinity (mg l−1) 92.0–186.5 135.8 ± 25.98
Chloride ion (mg l−1) 11.0–88.97 48.51 ± 21.35

Pollution levels according to ER and E r i $\,E.{r}^{i}$values

E r i $\,E_{r}^{i}$scope Ecological risk levels for single factor pollution ER scope Potential ecological risk levels
E r i $\,E_{r}^{i}$<40 Low ER<150 Low grade
40 ≤ E r i $\,E_{r}^{i}$<80 Moderate 150 ≤ER < 300 Moderate
80 ≤ E r i $\,E_{r}^{i}$<160 Considerable 300≤ ER< 600 Severe
160 ≤ E r i $\,E_{r}^{i}$<160 High 600 ≤ ER Serious
320 ≤ E r i $\,E_{r}^{i}$ Serious - -
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