Trace elements pollution in marine surface sediments of Callao Bay, Peru

In this study, trace element contamination in the superficial sediment of the Callao Bay, Peru was evaluated. 28 trace elements were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma atomic absorption spectrophotometry (ICP-MS) in surface marine sediments from four stations for each season (autumn, winter, spring, and summer) during the 2015 -2016 period. Contamination indices were used to determine the degree of contamination of the sediment. As, Cd, Cu, Hg, Pb, and Zn could be associated with toxic effects on the biota of the superficial marine sediment based on an ecological risk assessment. The EF (Enrichment Factor) values indicated an extremely high enrichment for the annual means of As, Cd, Ag, and Pb, while the Cfs (Contamination Factors) indicated high contamination. In addition, it was determined that the superficial marine sediment of the Callao Bay is highly contaminated, mainly due to As, Cd, and Pb: _mCd (Index of the degree of contamination in sediments), RI (Index of potential ecological risk), PI_Avg (Average of contamination index), and PI_nemerow (Nemerow pollution index).