Heavy metal and magnetic relationships for urban source sediments

A major problem in urban hydrology is the assessment of the relative contributions of different pollution sources within urban drainage systems. This paper examines the use of magnetic techniques for the identification of pollution sources and the possible relationships between heavy metal levels and several magnetic parameters. The characterisation of pollution sources by the use of magnetic methods is consistent with previously published results. Surface constructional materials and directly derived vehicular particulates have been analysed and compared with sediments sampled from within a highway catchment. The results of this analysis indicate that automobiles are the major source of metal pollution this is consistent with the results obtained for metal analysis of the sediment types. Strong linear relationships are observed between the metals (Cu, Fe, Pb and Zn) and ferrimagnetic concentration related parameters. The implications of these results regarding the use of magnetic techniques for the identification of pollution sources are discussed.