Contaminant Metal Behaviour During Re-suspension of Sulphidic Estuarine Sediments

Sediment re-suspension experiments have been conducted to predict contaminants release from sediments to the water column, during dredging operations. In this context, polluted, anoxic estuarine sediments from Rio de Janeiro, SE Brazil, were suspended in oxygenated estuarine water, in laboratory experiments intended to simulate their dispersion by flood flow or dredging operations, in order to measure any release into solution of heavy metals originally present as sulphides that might suffer oxidation. Oxidation of sulphides to sulphate acidified the waters but only after at least 5 h of suspension. Furthermore, the oxidation of acid volatile sulphide (AVS) to sulphate was more rapid and only proceded to completion within 5 days, when large quantities of sulphide forming metals other than Fe were not present. In sediment heavily polluted with zinc, oxidation of AVS was slower and incomplete, resulting in soluble release of a much smaller fraction of the Zn present in the sediment and a maximum dissolved zinc concentration that was much lower than that resulting from less contaminated sediment. The maximum percentages of sulphide-bound metals appearing in solution at any time during re-suspension were low, less than 46% in all cases and typically less than 10%. These maxima were manifested only after acidification by sulphate formation. Appreciable metal dissolution would not occur in an estuary if dilution and dispersion separated the sediment from acid generated or if dredged material settled before acidification occurred.