Environmental status of the metropolitan river (Kifissos) of Athens, Greece

• Published in: Environmental earth sciences Vol. 61; no. 5; pp. 983 - 993
• Main Authors: Panagiotopoulos, Ioannis, Kapsimalis, Vasilios, Hatzianestis, Ioannis, Kanellopoulos, Theodore D., Kyriakidou, Chara
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer-Verlag 01.09.2010; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Biogeochemistry; Biogeosciences; Contaminated sediments; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Earth, ocean, space; Engineering and environment geology. Geothermics; Environmental Science and Engineering; Exact sciences and technology; Fluvial sediments; Freshwater; Geochemistry; Geology; Heavy metals; Hydrocarbons; Hydrology/Water Resources; Original Article; Pollution, environment geology; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Rivers; Sediment load; Soil and rock geochemistry; Terrestrial Pollution; Greece; Southern Europe; East Mediterranean; Mediterranean Sea; Ionian Sea; Europe; MED, Greece, Saronikos Gulf; USA; MED, Greece; Hydrocarbons; Saronikos Gulf; Sediment; Urban river; Heavy metals; rivers; toxicity; stream transport; aliphatic hydrocarbons; urban environment; hydrocarbons; heavy metals; concentration; urban areas; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; pollution; human activity; phenanthrene; enrichment; grain size; estuarine sediments; alluvium; copper; zinc; size distribution
• ISSN: 1866-6280; 1866-6299
• DOI: 10.1007/s12665-009-0417-6

Surficial and sub-surficial sediments obtained from the lower course of the Kifissos River, which drains the Athens Basin, have been analyzed for heavy metals and aliphatic and polycyclic hydrocarbons. Oddly, the calculated enrichment factors for the identified heavy metals, with the baseline taken from a pristine area in the adjacent Saronikos Gulf, are very low excluding only those related to Cu and Zn. In contrast, the enrichment factors for the measured hydrocarbons are particularly high. However, physicochemical water conditions and annual flushing episodes of the Kifissos River may have reduced significantly the sediment chemical fingerprint found out by the present study. Moreover, an evaluation of the fluvial sediment quality based on the enriched Cu and Zn amounts and concentration of PAH fraction with a consideration of the biological thresholds proposed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (USA) reveals little probability for serious biological impairments. Additionally, sediment toxicity due to the sediment PAH load may be considered as minimum.