Assessment of Heavy Metals Contamination in Sediments of the Vridi Canal (Côte d’Ivoire)

The concentrations of cadmium, copper, lead and zinc in sediment samples from the Vridi Canal (Harbour area of economic capital of Cote d’Ivoire) were determined to evaluate the level of contamination. All metal concentrations in sediment samples, except Cu, were greater than the concentration of Upper Continental Crust (UCC). Sediment pollution assessment was undertaken by using Enrichment Factor (EF), geoaccumulation index (Igeo) and Pollution Load Index (PLI). The enrichment factor (Cd: EF = 20.04; Pb: EF = 3.43; Zn: EF = 1.56) and geoaccumulation index (Cd: Igeo = 4.29; Pb: Igeo = 1.81) showed that the sediments were polluted. The Pollution Load Index (PLI > 1) indicated that the sediments of the studied area were heavily contaminated. Based on the comparison with sediment quality guidelines, the concentrations of cadmium, lead and zinc would be toxic to one or more species of aquatic organisms living in the sediments.