Heavy metals and acid-volatile sulfides in sediments of the Tijuana Estuary
- San Diego State Univ., CA (United States)
The Tijuana Estuary in San Diego County, CA is a wetland-dominated estuary, which has been designated a National Estuarine Sanctuary for protection of a number of endangered species and their habitat. For decades, raw sewage from the city of Tijuana, Mexico has flowed into the Tijuana River and across the international border into the Tijuana Estuary. This problem has worsened in recent years with the substantial growth of Tijuana`s population along with intensive industrial development. Unfortunately, due to many factors, an industrial pretreatment program similar to one implemented in the United States, has not been initiated in Mexico, and the threat of chemical contamination of the Tijuana Estuary exists. To date, however, the degree and spatial nature of such contamination has not been well assessed. We report here on the levels of selected toxic metals in the sediments of the estuary. Additionally, we measured both acid-volatile sulfides (AVS) and simultaneously extracted metals (SEM) in order to estimate the potential toxicity of these estuarine sediments.
- OSTI ID:
- 576777
- Journal Information:
- Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, Vol. 59, Issue 1; Other Information: PBD: 1997
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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