Sediment quality assessment of the tributaries of the Santos-São Vicente Estuarine System – Brazil

Authors

  • Fernando Cesar Perina UNESP, Instituto de Biociências – Campus do Litoral Paulista, Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho”, São Vicente, São Paulo http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7825-1331
  • Ronaldo José Torres UNIFESP, Instituto do Mar – Campus Baixada Santista, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Santos, São Paulo
  • Antonio Aparecido Mozeto UFSCAR, Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlo, São Paulo
  • Marcos Roberto Lopes Nascimento Conselho Nacional de Energia Nuclear, Poços de Caldas, Minas Gerais
  • Denis Moledo de Souza Abessa UNESP, Instituto de Biociências – Campus do Litoral Paulista, Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho”, São Vicente, São Paulo

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5132/eec.2018.02.05

Abstract

The Santos-São Vicente Estuarine System has a long history of environmental impacts, and several studies have been performed in this region. However, the quality of its tributaries was not previously studied. This study aimed to investigate the quality of sediments from five rivers (Santana, Mariana, Piaçabuçu, Quilombo, and Diana Rivers) and three sampling sites at Piaçaguera Canal (riverbed, right and left banks), by using an integrated approach involving chemical analyses and whole sediment toxicity tests. Chronic and acute toxicity tests were performed using, respectively, copepods Nitocra sp. and amphipods Tiburonella viscana. The studied sediments presented moderate to high levels of PAHs, PCBs, metals (Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, Zn), and As. The majority of sediments produced chronic toxic effects, and samples from Piaçaguera Canal were consistently toxic in all acute and chronic tests. The integration of data through multivariate analyses indicated that the toxicity was closely related to the sediments contamination. Chemical data were compared with sediment quality guidelines, which evidenced that the site-specific values are adequate to predict impacts. The levels of organic chemicals and metals suggest constant inputs from diffuse and point sources, demanding actions to ensure effective control and management of the contamination sources to the estuary.

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Published

29-06-2018

How to Cite

Perina, F. C., Torres, R. J., Mozeto, A. A., Nascimento, M. R. L., & Abessa, D. M. de S. (2018). Sediment quality assessment of the tributaries of the Santos-São Vicente Estuarine System – Brazil. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Contamination, 13(2), 25–38. https://doi.org/10.5132/eec.2018.02.05

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