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Determination of Chromium, Copper, Lead and Manganese in the Coastal

Sediments of Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental

Article in Environmental Chemistry · January 2012

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 Determination of Chromium, Copper, Lead and Manganese
in the Coastal Sediments of Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental

Llayde Sheila S. Pasia and Jurgen T. Sanes

Department of Chemistry
College of Arts and Sciences
Mindanao University of Science and Technology
Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines

Abstract

Using Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer, concentrations of chromium, copper, lead

and manganese were examined from the sediments in the coastal area of Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental

for two months. There were four sampling points in which Point D, a non-industrial zone of Tagoloan,

was found to contain all the highest heavy metal concentrations. Point A has the lowest chromium,

lead and manganese concentrations while the copper concentration is lowest at Point C.

Average concentration of chromium, copper, lead and manganese in the sediments were 205.5,

61.70, 19.93 and 520.0 ppm, respectively.

No significant differences were found on copper and lead concentrations with respect to the

four sampling points whereas chromium and manganese have significant variations.

Statistically, chromium exceeded the severe effect level set by US-EPA. Copper have

concentration that exceeds the lowest effect level but not on its severe effect level. Both lead and

manganese falls below the two criteria.

Keywords: coastal sediments, heavy metal concentration, Tagoloan

Intoduction
n

Tagooloan is thee first Eastt Municipallity in Misaamis

Oriental. Itt is locateed at the north of Municipality

M y of

Villanueva; South of Cagayan

C de Oro
O City; East of Malittbog,

Bukidnon; and West of Macajalaar Bay. Sinnce mid-19880’s,

industrializaation increassed making Tagoloan one

o of the entry
e

point of inddustrial actiivities and population

p h grown fast.
had

Now, it hass thirty-six in

ndustries enncompassingg food and wood
w

processing, hollow bloccks making, metal

m forminng, asphalt plant,
p powerr distributionn, agri-industtrial and

others engaging in petrrochemical operations

o (N
NSCB, n.d.)). The muniicipal has onne wharf located in

Barangay Gracia
G wheree materials, goods
g loadinng and unloading from various induustries are operated.
o

Another porrt is owned by

b Mindanaoo Container Terminal
T Project (MCTP
P) of PHIVIIDEC.

Due to industriaalization andd increasing population, wastewaterr from indusstries and municipal
m

effluents enntered into th

he coastal zoone of Tagooloan increassing toxic suubstances cooncentration such as

heavy metalls. Many stu

udies have coonducted moonitoring heaavy metal cooncentrationn in water, seediments

and differennt aquatic liv

ves.

Methodologgy

Sam
mpling. Coasttal sedimentt samples were
w collected at the fouur sampling points in Taagoloan,

Misamis Orriental. Using

g PVC pipe sampler of 6 inches in leength and 1 inch in diam
meter, corressponding

sediments was
w withdraw
wn 10 meterrs from the shoreline.
s T sedimennts were stored immediattely in a
The
closed, plastic bag. It was air-dried, pulverized using mortar and pestle, sieved in #100 (149 μm) sieve,

and oven-dried.

Sample Digestion. Five grams of dried, fined-grain sediments was weighed and placed in an

acid-washed 100 mL digestion flask. A 30 mL of aqua regia (conc. HCl/conc. HNO3, 3:1) was added

and then digested for 2 hours. After digestion, the solution was filtered through Whatman No. 1 filter

paper. The filtrate was collected in a 100 mL volumetric flask and diluted to mark with distilled water.

Heavy Metal Analysis. Series of standard solutions were prepared for each element to be

analyzed. It was read in Flame AAS followed by the blank and the sample.

Using the measured absorbances of standard solutions, a calibration curve was constructed

automatically by the spectrophotometer. The unknown heavy metal concentration of the sediment was

determined.

Results and Discussion

Table 1

Average Chromium, Copper, Lead and Manganese Concentration

Sampling Heavy Metal Concentration, ppm

Points Cr Cu Pb Mn
A 150.9 60.02 16.63 461.3
B 199.8 59.62 20.58 483.4
C 176.2 48.42 19.75 502.5
D 293.3 78.67 22.77 632.9
 All the heavy metal concentrations are highest at Point D as summarized in Table 1. The

sediments collected from Point A showed the lowest chromium, lead and manganese concentrations

and Point C resulted with the lowest copper concentration.

Figure 1 depicts the general average of the four heavy metals in the coastal sediments of

Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental,

Average Heavy Metal

Concentration
600
Concentration, ppm

500
400
300
200
100
0
Cr Cu Pb Mn
Analyzed Heaavy Metal

Figure 1. Average chromium, copper, lead and manganese concentrations.

Chromium, copper, lead and manganese has an average concentration of 205.0, 62.19, 19.93

and 520.1 ppm, respectively.

Taking into account the conditions at the time the sample was taken, there is no significant

increase of concentration during the third sampling where a heavy rainfall occurred the night before the

sampling. Runoffs from municipal and industries during and after a rain enters into the bodies of water

and some settle down increasing its concentration on the sediment (Begum, Harikrishna, Khan,

Ramaiah, & Veena, 2008).

Concentrations of each heavy metal in four sampling points are compared to determine whether

it varies from one location to another. Table 2 shows the result of one-way ANOVA calculations.
Copper and lead have an average concentration that does not differ significantly within the four

sampling points. This finding is contrasting with chromium and manganese where the average

concentration varies significantly from different sampling points.

Table 2

One-Way Analysis of Variance

Fcalc F0.05 Decision

Cr 37.02 Reject Ho
Cu 0.72 Accept Ho
3.49
Pb 0.29 Accept Ho
Mn 16.81 Reject Ho

Ho : The heavy metal concentration do not differ in each sampling points.

On the other hand, one-tailed t-test statistics was used in the study to test whether the difference

of the average heavy metal concentration and the standard set by the US-EPA is statistically

significant. Table 3 shows the summary of findings.

Table 3

One-Tailed T-Test Treatment

Lowest Effect Level Severe Effect Level

tcalc Decision tcalc Decision
Cr * 3.06 Reject Ho
Cu 7.29 Reject Ho -7.71 Accept Ho
Pb -8.68 Accept Ho **
Mn 1.56 Accept Ho -15.04 Accept Ho

* No need to calculate for the Lowest Effect Level value since it exceeded at the Severe Effect Level.
** No need to calculate for the Severe Effect Level value since it does not exceed at the Lowest Effect
Level.
 Among the heavy metals analyzed, chromium already exceeded its severe effect level which is

a sign of heavy contamination in the sediments and could possibly pose a threat to the surrounding

environment. Copper has a concentration that exceeds the lowest effect level, but not in the severe

effect level, and pose no or little threat. Lead and manganese have lower concentrations that fall below

the contamination standard of US-EPA.

Conclusion

The average heavy metal concentrations in the coastal sediments of Tagoloan, Misamis

Oriental are in the order of manganese>chromium>copper>lead. The study found that chromium has

the highest accumulation and it exceeded the severe effect level set by US-EPA. Copper, not exceeding

the severe effect level, have concentration above the lowest effect level and may pose a little or no

threat to surroundings while lead and manganese were found to be present at low concentrations.

In addition, concentration of chromium and manganese differs significantly at four sampling

points while copper and lead has insignificant differences.

References

Tagoloan, Municipal Profile. Retrieved from http://www. nscb.gov.ph/ru10/mprof/mptag.htm

Technical Guidance for Screening Contaminated Sediments (1999). New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation. Retrieved from http://www.dec.ny.gov/ docs/wildlife_pdf/seddoc.pdf.

Begum, A., Harikrishna, Khan,I., Ramaiah, M., & Veena, K. (2008). Heavy Metal Pollution and
Chemical Profile of Cauvery River Water. Retrieved from http://www. ejchem.net/PDF/V6N1/47-
52.pdf.

Greaney, K. M. (2005). An Assessment of Heavy Metal Contamination in the Marine Sediments of

Las Perlas Archipelago, Gulf of Panama. Heriot-Watt University.

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