Enrichment Factor and Geo-Accumulation Index of Trace Metals in Sediments in the River Hornad, Slovakia

Environmental risk management provides policy makers and resource managers as well as the public with systematic methods that can facilitate informed decision making. The results provide comprehensive sediment contamination status of heavy metals and potential origin of contamination in the rivers, giving insight into decision ensuring water source security. Numerous sediment quality guidelines have been developed to monitor the sediments. Sediment quality guidelines are very useful to screen sediment contamination by comparing sediment contaminant concentration with the corresponding quality guideline, provide useful tools for screening sediment chemical data to identify pollutants of concern and prioritise problem sites and relatively good predictors of contaminations. The present study suggests that these indices are useful tools for the identification of different sources of contamination of the bottom sediment. Investigation was focused on heavy metals (Zn, Cu, Pb, Cd, Ni, Hg, As, Fe, Mn). The degree of sediment contamination in the Hornad river has been evaluated using the Enrichment factor and Geo-Accumulation Index. This paper aims to contribute to the development of a sediment pollution prevention strategy. The main topics that may need to be investigated are the control of industrial and domestic discharge, regular observation of pollutants, and evaluating the effects of pollutants on the ecosystem over the long term, coordinating the pollution source and preventing inflow of pollutants to the sediment.