Environmental Assessment of Water Quality and Heavy Metals Pollution of Seawater in Tobruk Bay - Libya

Abstract

Due to the scarcity of drinking water, the city of Tobruk depends mainly on desalination of sea water for drinking. The water quality of 16 sites along Tobruk bay was investigated during two seasons (winter and summer). Varying analytical techniques have been utilized to analyze group of environment-sensitive elements, including Al, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn. These tests were performed using the Inductively Coupled Plasma/Atomic Emission Spectroscopy ICP/AES. To evaluate the suitability of water for aquatic life and drinking purposes the contamination index (Cd) was computed. The results of the present study indicated the bay is affected by intensive load of urban, agricultural and industrial wastewater showed serious deterioration of water quality compared with other sites along the Mediterranean Sea. The studied sites of Tobruk bay showed high Cd values which associated with high risks, where, most of the studied metals often exceeded the drinking water and aquatic life permissible limits as compared with WHO specifications, as well as Libyan specifications.