Physics Department, Faculty of Women for Arts, Science & Education, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
Radiation Protection Department, Nuclear Research Center, Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority, Cairo, Egypt.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2024 Jul;31(31):43633-43658. doi: 10.1007/s11356-024-33761-5. Epub 2024 Jun 13.
Burullus lagoon is part of Egypt's protected area network. The lagoon serves as a reservoir for drainage water discharged from agricultural areas, and the lake's sediments provide a unique opportunity to record environmental behavior and reconstruct of the heavy metal contamination history. In the present study, the sediment chronology, sedimentation rates, and metal accumulation fluxes were estimated in four sediment cores using Pb dating models to evaluate how human activities have affected the coastal environment. Using the radioisotopes Pb and Cs, radiometric dating was carried out using gamma-ray spectrometry. At the Egypt Second Research Reactor (ETRR-2), the element concentrations were determined using the instrumented neutron activation analysis (INAA- k method). Our findings show that the constant rate of supply (CRS), which has been verified with the peak of artificial radionuclide Cs, is the best model performed for the chronology of Burullus Lagoon. The average sedimentation rate, according to Pb dating models, is 0.85 cm/year. The large variation in sedimentation rates, especially after the 1990s, is consistent with an increase in the anthropogenic flux of heavy metals. This may be led into a significant environmental problem such as reducing the size of the lake and degrading the quality the water in Burullus Lagoon. Enrichment factor (EF) of the studied elements displayed the following order: Cl > Ca > Na > Br > Zn > Ta > Ti > V > Cr > Sc > Mg > Mn > Fe > Hf which is higher than unity. Furthermore, the Nemerow pollution index (PI ) revealed that pollution was increasing in the direction of the drains and slightly polluted. Consequently, pollutant indices showed that urbanization and industrial development may have increased the depositional fluxes of the metals in sediments over time.
布腊鲁斯泻湖是埃及保护区网络的一部分。泻湖是农业区排水的蓄水池，而湖泊沉积物为记录环境行为和重建重金属污染历史提供了独特的机会。本研究使用 Pb 年代测定模型，对四个沉积物岩芯中的沉积年代、沉积速率和金属积累通量进行了估算，以评估人类活动如何影响沿海环境。使用放射性同位素 Pb 和 Cs，通过伽马射线光谱进行了放射性年代测定。在埃及第二研究反应堆（ETRR-2）中，使用仪器中子活化分析（INAA- k 方法）测定了元素浓度。我们的研究结果表明，经过人工放射性核素 Cs 峰验证的恒定供应速率（CRS）是布腊鲁斯泻湖年代学的最佳模型。根据 Pb 年代测定模型，平均沉积速率为 0.85 cm/年。特别是在 20 世纪 90 年代以后，沉积速率的较大变化与重金属人为通量的增加一致。这可能导致了一个重大的环境问题，如缩小湖泊面积和降低布腊鲁斯泻湖的水质。研究元素的富集因子（EF）显示出以下顺序：Cl > Ca > Na > Br > Zn > Ta > Ti > V > Cr > Sc > Mg > Mn > Fe > Hf，均高于 1。此外，内梅罗污染指数（PI）表明，污染在排水方向上呈上升趋势，略受污染。因此，污染物指数表明，城市化和工业发展可能随着时间的推移增加了沉积物中金属的沉积通量。
