mental content in sediment water and fishes from vicinicty of oil processing regions in shatt al arab

Level and distribution of 8 metals Cd, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, V and Zn have been determined in sediment water and some organs of selected commercial fishes species Tenualosa ilisha, Cyprinus carpio and Aconthopagrus latus collected during summer 2001 from the vicinity of oil processing regions in shatt Al-Arab river. Concentration of studied metals in sediment was higher than there concentration in water for all stations, whereas there concentration in particulate phase of water was more than there concentration in dissolved phase.Total organic carbon showed higher values in sediment specially at station 1 and 2. Fishes organs displayed different pattern of metal accumulation and most metals recorded higher levels in fishes guts. Metals concentration in muscles ofT. ilisha, C. carpio and A. latus were Cd(ND),Co(O.l l ,0.6,0.5),Cu(ND,0.6,ND), Mn (0.09,0.41,1.3),Ni (0.36,2.8,0.61 ), Pb (0.05,0.1 l,ND) , V (0.22,0.38,0.33) and Zn(5.7,8.7,2.5 )uglgm dry weight,respectively. The higher concentration of metals in study area is due to the heavy traffic , municipal and industrial eftluents and agricultural activities whereas the alleviated level ofNi and V in the sediment and water (particulate phase ) is due to the oil discharge from refining petroleum and rotten tanker and shipping operations in Abadan and Al-Naser harbour station I and 2 respectively.