Abstract Samples of water, sediment and two native plants (Eichhornia crassipes and Ceratophyllum demersum), collected seasonally from eight sites, were analyzed to investigate the level of contamination with metals (Fe, Mn, Ni, Co, Zn, Cu, Cr, Pb and Cd) in the Nile River in the Cairo region, using heavy metal pollution and contamination indices in the case of water, and the geoaccumulation index, the pollution load index, the enrichment factor and the potential ecological risk factor in the case of sediment. The results clarified that the levels of metals among three compartments were in order: sediments > plants > water. The Nile water in Cairo is not critically polluted by the studied metals and the metal pollution index for most sites does not exceed the critical limit (< 100). Sediment samples showed a clear accumulation of Mn, Ni and Cd when compared with benchmarks cited by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), especially during low flow seasons. The contribution of Cd to the ecological risk assessment was about 80%, while the contribution of Ni was about 10%, reflecting that these elements originated primarily from anthropogenic sources. Eichhornia crassipes and Ceratophyllum demersum have a higher accumulation capacity for Mn, Cu and Fe compared to the other studied metals.

中文翻译：

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埃及开罗地区尼罗河水体、沉积物和植物重金属污染风险评估

摘要 分析了从八个地点季节性收集的水、沉积物和两种本地植物（Eichhornia crassipes 和 Ceratophyllum demersum）的样本，以调查金属（Fe、Mn、Ni、Co、Zn、Cu、Cr、Pb）的污染水平。和 Cd) 在开罗地区的尼罗河中，在水的情况下使用重金属污染和污染指数，在沉积物的情况下使用地积累指数、污染负荷指数、富集因子和潜在生态风险因子。结果表明，三个区室中的金属水平依次为：沉积物>植物>水。开罗的尼罗河水并未受到所研究金属的严重污染，大多数地点的金属污染指数未超过临界限值 (< 100)。沉积物样品显示出明显的 Mn 积累，Ni 和 Cd 与环境保护署 (EPA) 引用的基准进行比较，尤其是在低流量季节。Cd对生态风险评估的贡献约为80%，而Ni的贡献约为10%，反映这些元素主要来源于人为来源。Eichhornia crassipes 和 Ceratophyllum demersum 与其他研究的金属相比，对 Mn、Cu 和 Fe 的积累能力更高。