Investigation of the metal content of sediments around the historically polluted Potomac River basin in Washington D.C., United States by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES)

The Potomac and Anacostia rivers have a history of being contaminated with organic and inorganic contaminants. In the past, significant Hg, Pb, and Zn have been found in sediments of these rivers. Thus, monitoring of metals the Potomac River basin sediments has become a high priority. Sediments from ten locations in the Potomac River basin were collected, and the concentrations of Al, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn were determined by ICP-OES. Sediments from urban and commercial areas typically had higher concentrations of metals than other locations. The results suggest that the sediments of locations other than our locations, SH and SJ, are likely to have some toxic effect on the environment.