Background & Aims: Mercury is one of the metal pollutants that enter the environment due to human industrial activities and subsequently enter the human body, causing poisoning and carcinogenesis. The present research was aimed to determine mercury pollution in water and sediments of the Dez and Karkheh rivers in Khuzestan province, Iran. Materials and Methods: In this research, 30 water samples and 30 sediment samples were collected from each station, and a total of 120 samples from the Dez River and 180 samples from Karkhe River were collected from two stations. Mercury measurement was performed by atomic absorption method and hydride system with the help of Perkin Elmer 4100 device. Results: Analysis of variance showed that the amount of mercury in water (P=0.011) and sediments (P=0.023) exhibited a significant difference between the Dez River and Karkheh River (P<0.05). The highest Nimro index and pollution factor were observed at the second station of the Dez River, with values of 0.848 and 1.350, respectively, while the lowest values of these indices were found at the second station of the Karkhe River, at 0.092 and 0.012, respectively. The mercury in water quality index (MI), mercury pollution index (HPI), Contamination Factor (CF), and water pollution index (WPI) at the first station of the Dez River were higher than those at the other studied stations in both the Dez and Karkheh rivers. The highest and lowest values of the mercury metal risk index in water were 11.49 for children and 0.052 for adults, observed at the first and second stations of the Karkhe River, respectively. Conclusion: The potential risk assessment indicated that there is a possibility of adverse effects on human health from exposure to mercury, even below the permissible limit for adult and child receptors. The pollution indicators suggested that mercury metal pollution in the sediments of the Dez and Karkheh rivers is low to moderate, indicating that the origin of mercury metal in these sediments is very low. However, the results of water pollution indicators revealed that the waters of the Dez and Karkheh rivers are polluted with mercury.
کلید واژگان :Ecological toxicity, Health, Heavy, Heavy Metal Poisoning, Mercury Poisoning, Metals, Nervous System, Poisoning
ارزش ریالی : 350000 ریال
با پرداخت الکترونیک