Potentially Toxic Elements Contamination in Sediment, Surface and Pore water of Maharlu Saline Lake, South- West Iran

Maharlu Lake, located in the SW of Iran, has acted as a sink for various wastewater discharges in the last few decades. This study aimed at assessing potentially toxic elements (PTEs) distribution in sediment, surface and pore water samples of Maharlu Lake. To achieve that, the samples were collected from each compartment and the total concentration of PTEs (Al, Fe, Sc, Cr, Co, Ni, Zn, As, Sb, Cu, Pb, Mn, V, Cd, and Mo) analyzed by inductively coupled plasma – optical emission spectrometry (ICP–OES). Based on enrichment factor (EF) analysis the lake sediments were categorized as: minimally enriched with Sb, Co, Zn, V, Cu, Pb, As, Mn, Fe, Al and moderately enriched with Mo, Ni, Cr, and Cd. Analysis of contamination factor (Cf) and potential ecological risk factor (Er) of PTEs in sediment samples showed that there was low to moderate level of contamination. The sediment–water partition coefficients (Kd) for PTEs in both water groups decreased in the order of Fe Al Mn Zn Pb Mo Sb Cd. The low value of Kd (log Kd 2.9) for Cd, Sb, Mo, Pb, and Zn revealed that there is a potential exchange of these PTEs with the lake s water column if the physicochemical condition of lake changes.