DETERMINATION OF HYDROCARBON CONCENTRATIONS IN SEDIMENT SAMPLES OF AL-DALMAJ MARSH, AL-QADISIYA – WASIT GOVERNORATES / IRAQ

Abstract

Ten surficial sediment samples were collected from 10 locations in Al-Dalmaj Marsh area, whichis located within Al-Qadisiya- Wasit Governorates. The sediment samples were analyzed todetermine the total concentration of hydrocarbons by using a spectrofluorometer. The average ofhydrocarbon concentrations in the study area was ranged between (2.68 µg/g dry weight) at station(1) to (12.99 µg/g dry weight) at station (6). The results show that the spatial variations inhydrocarbon levels among stations, where the high concentrations in station (6) is due to receptionof large quantities of organic, chemical dissolved matters in water from domestic and industrialwastes such as agricultural effluents with other matters, while the low concentration at first stationis due to its being far away from pollution sources. This study it’s a first of its kind in the regionand could serves a baseline study for coming study in the futures.