Determination of natural radionuclides from 238U and 232Th series, trace and major elements in sediment cores from baixada Santista and evaluation of impacted areas

Baixada Santista is the region of higher population of the coast of Sao Paulo State, where it is located the largest port in Latin America, in the city of Santos, and the most important industrial complex of Latin America, in the city of Cubatao. This region has received in recent years a considerable load of industrial and domestic effluents in its water bodies, as a direct result of the industrial and port activities and the large population growth in recent decades, and is considered nowadays highly impacted. In the present study sediment cores were collected in the estuary of Santos-Cubatao, in the estuary of Sao Vicente, in the channel of Bertioga and Santos Bay, in order to determine the concentration of trace and major elements and natural radionuclides from the 238U and 232Th series. The techniques used were neutron activation analysis, X-ray fluorescence and gamma spectrometry, respectively. The obtained values for the elements Cr, Sb, Ta and Zn in some cores, are higher than data from literature, and can indicate a possible anthropic contribution. Comparing the obtained values of Cr and Zn elements determined in the sediment cores with the values of TEL and PEL index for sediment quality, it was verified that the studied region presents Cr levels higher than TEL in Santos-Cubatao estuary and Bertioga channel and Zn element presented values higher than TEL for some core slices of Santos-Cubatao estuary, for one core of Sao Vicente estuary, one core in Bertioga channel and Santos Bay. For the other elements, the values obtained in this study can be considered as reference values for the region. Although the element As presented higher values than the TEL in all the studied environments, the concentrations obtained are of the same order of magnitude as literature data and, therefore, can be considered also as reference values for the region. No enrichment was found for the major elements in all the ecosystems studied, with the exception for the element P that presented higher values for the cores that are under influence of the industrial complex and receive industrial and domestic effluents. The highest concentrations of 232Th and 238U were found in ecosystems that are under the influence of the industrial complex, indicating a probable contamination due to release of its industrial effluents. Taking under consideration CONAMA no 344/04 resolution, all the sediments can be considered as level 1, and are below the reference values for the decision to manage the dredged material. The data obtained in this work can be used as reference values for the revision of CONAMA no 344/04 Resolution. (author)