Heavy metal fractionation studies in tidal sediment cores in the clam farms from Tan Thanh commune, Go Cong dong district, Tien Giang province, Vietnam

Abstract

This paper introduces the results from a study on the distribution of heavy metals in chemical fractions in tidal sediment cores at four sample stations inside the baby clam breeding plain, inside the harvested clam breeding plain, and on the frontier between the plains in the clam farms in Vietnam. The partitioning of metals among the compartments of the sediment’s solid phase was investigated indirectly by selective sequential extraction of substances that are water-soluble, exchangeable, bound to carbonates, bound to Mn oxides, bound to amorphous Fe oxides, bound to crystalline Fe oxides, associated with organics and residual. In case of investigated heavy metals (HM), the concentrations of Zn and Hg exceeded the National Technical Regulation on Sediment Quality QCVN 43:2012/BTNMT by 1.12 - 3.53 times and 26.58 - 171.96 times, respectively. The highest HMs concentration was found in the oxidable fraction (more than 60%). The data demonstrates the important role of organic matters in the oxidable condition at the surficial sediment layer. Besides the oxidable fraction, high HMs concentrations were measured also in the residual fraction. The HMs content present in the solid residue also indicates the level of contamination in the river system: the greater the percentage of HMs present in the solid residue, the lesser the pollution in the environment because this solid residue involves components that can not be remobilized. The HMs concentrations depending on the depth of the sediment indicate that clam’s digestive activity or the decomposition of tissue and shell of clams possibly affects the content of HMs.