assessment of heavy metal contamination of sediments of some polluted rivers

165 Pages·2011·3.89 MB·English

ASSESSMENT OF HEAVY METAL CONTAMINATION OF
SEDIMENTS OF SOME POLLUTED RIVERS

MD. KALIMUR RAHMAN

MASTER OF SCIENCE IN CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
BANGLADESH UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
DHAKA, BANGLADESH
NOVEMBER, 2011
ASSESSMENT OF HEAVY METAL CONTAMINATION OF SEDIMENTS
OF SOME POLLUTED RIVERS

A thesis submitted by
MD. KALIMUR RAHMAN
In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Civil
and Environmental Engineering

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
BANGLADESH UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
DHAKA, BANGLADESH
November, 2011
BANGLADESH UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL
We hereby recommend that the thesis titled “ASSESSMENT OF HEAVY METAL
CONTAMINATION OF SEDIMENTS OF SOME POLLUTED RIVERS”
submitted by MD. KALIMUR RAHMAN, Roll No.:040804125 P and Session: April,
2008 be accepted as fulfilling this part of the requirements for the degree of Master of
Science in Civil Engineering (Environmental) on 30 November, 2011.

BOARD OF EXAMINERS

_____________________ 
Dr. Md. Delwar Hosain Chairman
Professor (Supervisor)
Department of CE, BUET, Dhaka.

_____________________ 
Dr. Md. Mujibur Rahman Member
Professor and Head (Ex-Officio)
Department of CE, BUET, Dhaka.

_____________________ 
Dr. M. Ashraf Ali Member
Professor
Department of CE, BUET, Dhaka.

_____________________ 
A. F. M. Abdul Aziz Member
Superintending Engineer (External)
DWASA, WASA Bhaban
98, Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue
Kawranbazar, Dhaka-1215.
CANDIDATE’S DECLARATION
It is hereby declared that this thesis or any part of it has not been submitted elsewhere
for the award of any degree or diploma, except for publication.

______________________ 
MD. KALIMUR RAHMAN
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, the author is grateful to almighty ALLAH for overcoming all the
difficulties and problems that he faced during this study and for bringing this thesis
into reality. The author wants to show his sincere gratitude to all individuals, who
provided support, advice and encouragement during his student life in all the
institutions.
The author is delighted to express his heartiest gratitude and sincerest indebtedness to
his teacher, Dr. Md. Delwar Hossain, Professor, Department of Civil Engineering,
Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka, who served as his
thesis supervisor. He provided information, useful suggestion, criticism and
encouragement that enabled the author to carry out this study.
The author sincerely acknowledges the valuable suggestions of Dr. A. B. M.
Badruzzaman, Professor and Lab-in-charge of Environmental Engineering
Laboratory, BUET. The author would also like to acknowledge Engr. Ehosan Habib,
Mr. Mahabubur Rahman, Mr. Rafiqul Islam (Mithu), Mr. Md. Enamul Hoque, Mr.
Anwar and Mr. Shahidul Islam for their co-operation and companionship during
laboratory works.
The author is deeply grateful to Mr. Provat Kumar Saha, Lecturer, Department of
Civil Engineering (BUET) for providing data of Buriganga river sediments. The
author also wishes to thank all the faculty member of DUET for their constant support
and encouragement during the research work.
Last but not the least, the author wants to express his indebtedness to his parents for
their all time support and encouragement during the study.
ABSTRACT

Buriganga, Sitalakhya and Turag are some of the polluted rivers around Dhaka city.
Encroachment, disposal of untreated domestic and industrial wastewater and dumping
of solid wastes have degraded the overall quality of the rivers. The present study
investigated the extent of pollution of sediments of these rivers.
Sediment samples have been collected from five locations of Sitalakhya river and
available data from previous studies on ten locations of Buriganga and Turag river
have been used for sediment analysis. Samples were collected in April 2011 from
Sitalakhya river and analyzed for the concentrations of Cr, Pb, Zn, Cu and Cd using
atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS). Aqua regia digestion has been
performed for the dissolution of the sediment samples prior to the determination of
heavy metals.
The metal ion concentrations in the sediment samples have been compared with
USEPA sediment quality guidelines. Based on this comparison, the sediment samples
have been characterized as “heavily polluted”, “moderately polluted” and “not
polluted”. The sediments of Buriganga river assessed in this study have been found to
be highly polluted with respect to Cu, Pb and Zn; not polluted to moderately polluted
with respect to Cd; moderately to highly polluted with respect to Cr. The sediments of
Sitalakhya river assessed in this study have been found to be unpolluted to moderately
polluted with respect to Cr; moderately to heavily polluted with respect to Cu; not
polluted to moderately polluted with respect to Zn; not polluted to heavily polluted
with respect to Pb; not polluted with respect to Cd. The sediments of Turag river
assessed in this study have been found to be moderately to highly polluted with
respect to Cr, Cu and Zn; not polluted with respect to Pb and Cd.
Toxicity characteristics leaching procedure (TCLP) test for sediment samples have
been performed for the heavy metals Pb, Cd, Cr, Cu and Zn. The metal concentrations
in the TCLP samples have been found to be well below the regulated level as per
USEPA. Therefore, the sediments are not likely to readily leach these metals in the
water.
A major objective of this study was to assess suitability of different methods for
assessment of sediment quality. The methods assessed included metal pollution index,
marine sediment pollution index, toxic unit, geo-accumulation index, PIN index,
potential ecological risk index, contamination factor, degree of contamination,
pollution load index, mean sediment quality guideline quotient, Pearson’s correlation,
principal component analysis and cluster analysis. The methods differ in a number of
ways, especially with respect to data requirement. The suitability of different methods
in the context of Bangladesh has been assessed utilizing the sediment quality data
used in this study.
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
Acknowledgement
Abstract
LIST OF TABLES i
LIST OF FIGURES v
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vi

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

1.1 General 1
1.2 Scope of the Study 3
1.3 Objectives 3
1.4 Outline of Methodologies 4
1.5 Organization of the Thesis 5

CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction 7
2.2 River Pollution in Bangladesh 7
2.2.1 Industrial units in Bangladesh 9
2.2.2 Pollution in Buriganga river 17
2.2.3 Pollution in Sitalakhya river 18
2.2.4 Pollution in Balu river 21
2.2.5 Pollution in Turag river 21
2.3 Heavy Metals, Uses and Sources 25
2.3.1 Cadmium (Cd) 30
2.3.2 Chromium (Cr) 30
2.3.3 Coper (Cu) 32
2.3.4 Lead (Pb) 32
2.3.5 Zinc (Zn) 3
2.4 Heavy Metal Pollution in Sediments 34
2.5 Effects of Heavy Metal Contamination in Sediments 36
2.6 Assessment of Contaminated Sediments 39
2.7 Studies in the Field of Contaminated Sediments 40
CHAPTER THREE METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction 42
3.2 Selection of Site for Sample Collection 42
3.3 Data Collection from Secondary Sources 43
3.4 Time for Sediment Collection 45
3.5 Sampling Methods 45
3.6 Grain Size and its Effects in Metal Analysis 46
3.7 Sediment Digestion Techniques 47
3.8 Metal Analysis Methods 48
3.8.1 Atomic absorption spectrometry 48
3.8.2 Instrument description and theory of AAS 50
3.9 Toxicity Characteristics Leaching Procedure Test 55
3.10 Evaluation of Methods for Estimation of Sediment Pollution 58
3.10.1 Background enrichment indices 58
3.10.2 Contamination indices 60
3.10.3 Ecological risk indices 63
3.10.4 Overview of principal component analysis (PCA) 66
3.10.5 Cluster analysis 72

CHAPTER FOUR RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 General 82
4.2 Grain Size of Sediment Samples 82
4.3 Heavy Metal Contamination of River Sediments 84
4.3.1 Metal ion concentration 84
4.3.2 Heavy metal contamination and USEPA quality guideline 91
4.3.3 Toxicity characteristics leaching procedure test 93
4.4 Methodologies for Assessment of Sediment Contamination 95
4.4.1 Introduction 95
4.4.2 Polution indices 95
4.4.2.1 Contamination indices calculation 95
4.4.2.2 Background enrichment indices calculation 100
4.4.2.3 Ecological risk indices calculation 106
4.4.3 Multivariate data analysis methods 18
4.4.3.1 Pearson’s corelation 19
4.4.3.2 Principal component analysis 121
4.4.3.3 Cluster analysis 124

CHAPTER FIVE CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Conclusions 121
5.2 Recommendation for Future Studies 123

REFERENCES

APPENDIX
ABBREVIATIONS

AAS Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer
APHA American Public Health Association
BGB Border Guard of Bangladesh
BIWTA Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority
BOD Biochemical Oxygen Demand
BUET Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology
BWDB Bangladesh Water Development Board
COD Chemical Oxygen Demand
DCC Dhaka City Corporation
DND Dhaka Narayanganj Demra
DoE Department of Environment
DO Disolved Oxygen
DWASA Dhaka Water Supply and Sanitation Authority
EQG Environmental Quality Guidelines
EQL Environmental Quality Standard
GPS Global Positioning System
HNEC High No Effect Concentrations
IWM Institute of Water Modeling
JICA Japan International Co-operation Agency
LEL Lowest Efect Levels
MoE Ministry of Environment
PEL Probable Efect Level
PSTP Pagla Sewage Treatment Plant
SEL Severe Efect Level
SQG-Q Sediment Quality Guideline Quotient
SWMC Surface Water Modeling Center
TCLP Toxicity Characteristics Leaching Procedure
TDS Total Disolved Solids
TEC Threshold Efect Concentration
TRV Toxicity Reference Values
TSS Total Suspended Solids
USEPA United States Environmental Protection Agency