Assessment of pollution and ecological risk of heavy metals in the sediments of the western coast of Persian Gulf: A case study in Dayer port

Background: In recent years, the pollution of heavy metals in the beaches has been noticed due to the increase of human activities. This study aimed to evaluate heavy metal pollution, its ecological risk, and possible sources in the coastline of Dayer Port, Bushehr province. Methods: The sediment samples were collected from 8 stations with different uses in 0-5 and 5-20 cm depths. The samples were evaluated to measure the concentration of Pb, Cu, Ni, and Mn after acid digestion by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). Subsequently, the ecological risk index was used to evaluate the environmental risk potential caused by heavy metal pollution. The statistical analysis was used to determine the source of pollutants and their relationship. Results: The average concentration of Mn, Ni, Cu, and Pb were 218.59, 10.44, 11.78, and 7.81 μg g-1 in surface sediments and 278.05, 15.79, 12.74, and 10. 75 μg g-1 in deep sediments, respectively. The results of evaluating the ecological risk index caused by heavy metal pollution in the coastal sediments of the studied area showed that the environmental risk is low ( > 150). The results of multivariate statistical analyses showed that the investigated metals are of natural and anthropogenic origin mainly natural sources. Conclusion: The presence of heavy metals in all collected sediment samples shows that heavy metals are common pollutants in the study area. As a result, regular monitoring of the area is important to control and reduce heavy metal pollution.