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Hazardous metal pollution in a protected coastal area from Northern Patagonia (Argentina)

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Abstract

The San Antonio Bay is a protected natural coastal area of Argentina that has been exposed to mining wastes over the last three decades. Iron and trace metals of potential concern to biota and human health (Cd, Pb, Cu, and Zn) were investigated in the sediments from the bay and in the soils of the Pile (mining wastes). Concentrations of Cd (45 mg kg−1), Pb (42,853 mg kg−1), Cu (24,505 mg kg−1), and Zn (28,686 mg kg−1) in the soils Pile exceeded guidelines for agricultural, residential, and industrial land uses. Risk assessment due to exposure to contaminated soils (Pile) was performed. Hazard quotients were superior to non-risk (HQ >1) for all trace metals, while accumulative hazard quotient index indicated a high risk for children (HI = 93) and moderate for adults (HI = 9). In the bay, sediments closest to the Pile (mudflat and salt marsh) exceeded sediment quality guidelines for protection of biota. Results of different acid extraction methods suggest that most of the pseudototal content was potentially mobile. Principal component analysis indicated that the sites near the Pile (Encerrado channel) were more polluted than the distal ones. Tissues of Spartina spp. located within Encerrado channel showed the highest metal levels among all studied sites. These results show that the problem still persists and the mining wastes are the sources of the pollution. Furthermore, the Encerrado channel is a highly impacted area, as it is shown by their metal enriched sediments.

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Acknowledgements

This work has been carried out in the framework of the doctoral thesis of the B.S. Carmen Marinho (Universidad Nacional del Comahue). C.M. was supported by a doctoral scholarship from CONICET. Mr. Bernabé Urtubey kindly has reviewed the English version of this manuscript. We thank anonymous reviewers for their valuable suggestions and corrections on previous versions of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos (CESIMAR-CONICET), Bvd. Brown, 2915, Puerto Madryn, Argentina

    C. H. Marinho, E. Giarratano, J. L. Esteves & M. N. Gil

  2. Laboratorio de Química General y Análisis de Elementos (CCT-CENPAT-CONICET), Bvd. Brown, 2915, Puerto Madryn, Argentina

    E. Giarratano & M. N. Gil

  3. Instituto de Biología Marina y Pesquera Almirante Storni, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Marinas, Universidad Nacional del Comahue – CONICET, San Martín 247, 8520, San Antonio Oeste, Río Negro, Argentina

    M. A. Narvarte

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  1. C. H. Marinho
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  2. E. Giarratano
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Correspondence to C. H. Marinho.

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Marinho, C.H., Giarratano, E., Esteves, J.L. et al. Hazardous metal pollution in a protected coastal area from Northern Patagonia (Argentina). Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 6724–6735 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-8393-y

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