Evaluation of heavy metals background in the Adriatic Sea sediments of Abruzzo region, Italy

Giulio Surricchio; Loredana Pompilio; Alessandra Arizzi Novelli; Emanuela Scamosci; Lucia Marinangeli; Lucia Tonucci; Nicola d'Alessandro; Anna Chiara Tangari

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.05.350

Evaluation of heavy metals background in the Adriatic Sea sediments of Abruzzo region, Italy

Sci Total Environ. 2019 Sep 20:684:445-457. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.05.350. Epub 2019 May 24.

Authors

Giulio Surricchio¹, Loredana Pompilio², Alessandra Arizzi Novelli¹, Emanuela Scamosci¹, Lucia Marinangeli², Lucia Tonucci³, Nicola d'Alessandro⁴, Anna Chiara Tangari²

Affiliations

¹ Environmental Protection Agency of Abruzzo, Arta Abruzzo, Viale Marconi 178, I-65127 Pescara, Italy.
² Department of Psychological, Health & Territorial Sciences, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini, I-66100 Chieti, Italy.
³ Department of Philosophical, Educational and Economic Sciences, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini, I-66100 Chieti, Italy. Electronic address: lucia.tonucci@unich.it.
⁴ Department of Engineering and Geology, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini, I-66100 Chieti, Italy.

PMID: 31154217
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.05.350

Abstract

This work focuses on the characterization of background levels of heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, Zn) in seabed marine sediments of the central Adriatic Sea, collected up to 10 km far from the Abruzzo region coastline (Italy). The used approach follows the guidelines established by the Decree of the Italian Ministry of Environment, n. 173/2016, concerning the determination of threshold values of metal concentration, and including only samples with low or absent toxicological content. A statistical analysis, using the adjusted Tuckey's boxplot to identify the percentiles and potential outliers, was performed. The background concentrations were calculated as the values of the 90th percentile of distribution, according to the national regulation. This study represents the first attempt to calculate the background levels of marine sediments done at regional level in Abruzzo. A few outliers have been found, and interpreted as potential anthropic contamination.

Keywords: Adriatic Coast; Background level; Hazard metals; Seabed sediments.