Composition of dredged spoils of Indian harbours: Part I — heavy metals

The levels of heavy metals in the dredged spoils collected from the harbours of two major Indian ports, namely Visakhapatnam and Mormugao, are estimated for the first time using AAS and ICP-MS. A total of twenty environmentally significant elements are estimated. Higher levels of most of the metals were found in the dredged spoils of Visakhapatnam harbour compared to that of Mormugao harbour. In the port of Visakhapatnam, the dredged spoils collected from the inner harbour contain elevated levels of almost all metals compared to the outer harbour. The reasons for this pattern of distribution of heavy metals are discussed in the light of contributions from the discharge of industrial installations surrouding the port area, discharge of sewage from the surrounding areas of the port and spillages of dusty cargo during its handling and transport operations.