Exposure assessment of heavy metals pollution enriched in core sediment samples of river Nile, Aswan, Egypt

Abstract

The river Nile is a dominating physical feature of the northeastern part of the African continent, covering areas exhibiting varieties and contrasts in topography, climate vegetation and people. So, in this study, we estimated the contamination of the Nile sediment with some major and trace heavy metals in core samples which can cause some undesirable health effects. Concentrations of all elements shows that the maximum enrichment is found in the top subsamples, while the most elements shows low contents in the lower layer reflecting the impact of human activity on the sediment contents. Different normalizing methods were used, i.e. geoaccumulation (Igeo) and enrichment factor (EF), for the influence of the natural variability in sediment mineralogy and to assess whether the concentrations observed in surface sediment represent background or contaminated levels. The study has also shown the importance of different sediment characteristics in spatial distribution of heavy metals in the sediments of river Nile. To protect the ecological system of river Nile watershed, industrial mining and agricultural activities along river stream should to be strictly regulated.