Mohammed Faisal K, Sieuraj Jason, Seepersaud Mohindra
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago.
Environ Monit Assess. 2017 Aug;189(8):396. doi: 10.1007/s10661-017-6077-1. Epub 2017 Jul 15.
The increasing urbanization and industrial processes in Trinidad within recent years could pose a possible contamination threat to the aquatic environment. The southwestern part of the island houses numerous industrial activities, and the recent sightings of schools of dead fish and other marine organisms in that locality is cause for concern prompting research into this occurrence. Sediment and surface water samples from the Cipero and South Oropouche Rivers in South Trinidad were analyzed for their heavy metal content (Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn). Another watercourse, the Moruga River, was selected as a control, based on its location away from significant anthropogenic sources, and the levels of heavy metals obtained for this location were considered as background concentrations for both surface waters and sediments. Cadmium, Ni, and Pb were not detected in surface water samples of both rivers. The corresponding order of metals in the Cipero River was Mn > Cr > Zn > Cu, while for the South Oropouche River, the order was Mn > Cr > Cu > Zn. The individual concentrations of metals in sediments found in the Cipero and South Oropouche Rivers varied according to the following orders: Mn > Zn > Cu > Pb > Ni > Cr > Cd and Mn > Zn > Pb > Cu > Ni > Cr > Cd, respectively. Assessments of the pollution status in sediments revealed that the Cipero River was considered polluted with a moderate degree of ecological pollution while the South Oropouche River was also deemed polluted; however, the degree of ecological pollution associated with that river was low. Principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA) confirmed that both anthropogenic and natural sources contributed to heavy metal contamination in sediments of both rivers.
近年来，特立尼达城市化进程加快，工业活动增多，这可能对其水生环境构成污染威胁。该岛西南部有众多工业活动，近期在该地区出现大量死鱼群和其他海洋生物，令人担忧，促使人们对这一现象展开研究。对特立尼达南部锡佩罗河和南奥罗普切河的沉积物及地表水样本进行了重金属含量（镉、铬、铜、锰、镍、铅和锌）分析。另一条水道莫鲁加河因其远离主要人为污染源而被选作对照，该地点获得的重金属含量被视为地表水和沉积物的背景浓度。两条河流的地表水样本均未检测到镉、镍和铅。锡佩罗河金属含量的相应顺序为锰＞铬＞锌＞铜，而南奥罗普切河的顺序为锰＞铬＞铜＞锌。锡佩罗河和南奥罗普切河沉积物中金属的个别浓度变化顺序分别为：锰＞锌＞铜＞铅＞镍＞铬＞镉和锰＞锌＞铅＞铜＞镍＞铬＞镉。沉积物污染状况评估表明，锡佩罗河被认为受到污染，生态污染程度为中度，而南奥罗普切河也被视为受到污染；然而，与之相关的生态污染程度较低。主成分分析（PCA）和聚类分析（CA）证实，人为源和自然源均对两条河流沉积物中的重金属污染有贡献。
