Distribution of Heavy Metals in the Environmental Samples of the Saemangeum Coastal Area, Korea

In order to understand the distribution of elements in the environmental samples, surface seawater and sediment samples collected from the Saemangeum region of western coast of Korea were analyzed for their concentrations of major and trace elements. Dissolved heavy metal concentrations except for Cd were highest in inner part of the Saemangeum dike and in the Geum River Estuary. Riverine discharge of dissolved metal in July was much higher than that in May, and high in the Mangyeong River and low in the Dongjin River. Dissolved Cd concentration was low in the river waters but high in saline waters, indicating desorption from SPMs with the increase of salinity (ionic strength increase). Because of land-based sources of pollutants, dissolved metals except Cd showed an inverse correlation with salinity. High metal concentrations and metal/Al ratios in the marine sediments were observed in the Geum River Estuary and in the southwestern part of the study area in August. In the surface sediments, TOC and mean grain size (Mz) are controlling factors of metal composition. However, TOC and Mz did not impose any significant effect on the abundance and distribution of Mn, Pb and As.