Croatica Chemica Acta, Vol. 79 No. 1, 2006.
Original scientific paper
Mercury and Radionuclides in Sediments of the Ka{tela Bay (Croatia) – Evaluation of the Sediment Pollution History
Nevenka Mikac
Delphine Foucher
Željko Kwokal
Delko Barišić
Abstract
Mercury and radionuclides (natural U and its decay series products and artificial 137Cs) were measured in sediments of the Kaštela Bay (eastern Adriatic coast) in the vicinity of a former chloralkali plant. The depth distributions of radionuclides and mercury revealed that sediments in front of the factory represent a mixture of natural sediment and coal ash originating from the coal used in the factory power plant. Based on this data, the hypothesis that the coal ash from the factory power plant was dumped into the sea was confirmed, and it was estimated (from 137Cs depth profile) that the dumping happened between 1986 and 1991. Data on the artificial radionuclide 137Cs was shown to be very useful for evaluation of the sediment pollution history even in such very disturbed sediments. Future monitoring of mercury pollution and radionuclides in the Ka{tela Bay is suggested.
Keywords
mercury; radionuclides; Kaštela Bay; pollution history
Hrčak ID:
2608
URI
Publication date:
22.4.2006.
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