Dissolved and particulate metals and metalloids in the eastern Mekong Delta, Vietnam.

ABSTRACT

The article reports the concentration levels of particulate and dissolved metals and metalloids (Be, Se, Sb, Tl, V, Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn, Ni, Mo, Co, Fe As, Ag) in the eastern region of the lower Mekong Delta (Vietnam) in order to assess their possible influence on the environmental quality of river water. To measure the concentrations of trace elements, a mass spectrometric method was used. The critical particulate elements had included V, Cu, Ni, Co, Pb, Cd and potentially critical - Mo, Ag, Se, Tl. In the dissolved phase these were Cu, Zn, and Pb, Cd, Co, Ag, Se respectively. The high accumulation ability of studied elements to suspended particulate matter (102-107) suggests their important role in the distribution of elements. The water salinization boundary in the riverbeds of the delta moves upstream 30-50 km further in the dry season compared to the wet season.