Assessment of metal contamination in coastal sediments, seawaters and bivalves of the Mediterranean Sea coast, Egypt

In order to assess metal contamination on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt, 45 sediment samples, seawaters and bivalve specimens were collected from Rosetta coastal area for Mg, Al, K, Fe, Sr, Zn, Pb, Mn, As, Ce, Ni, Cr and Zr analyses by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometer. The Enrichment Factor (EF), the Geoaccumulation Index (Igeo) and the Contamination Factor (CF) indicated that the coastal sediments of Rosetta area were severely enriched, strongly polluted with As, Pb and very highly contaminated with As, Pb, Ni, Ce, mostly as a result of anthropogenic inputs. Comparison with other samples from the Arabian Gulf, Red Sea and abroad coasts suggested that the studied samples have higher concentrations of Fe, Pb, As, Zn and Ni. The natural sources of heavy metals in the study area are attributed to weathering and decomposition of mountain ranges of the Sudan and Ethiopia, while the anthropogenic ones are the metals produced from industrial, sewage, irrigation and urban runoff.