STUDY OF CHROME ON WATER AND SEDIMENTS OF RIVERS LOCATED IN BRAZILIAN AMAZON REGION

Abstract

The process of treatment of liquid waste employed by Tannery Tocantins is the chemical precipitation method, however this method has limited metal removal capability, especially potentially toxic metals contained in the liquid waste. Given the complexity of the problem, this research science seeks to determine, through quantitative analysis, the concentration of potentially toxic metal, chrome, in water and sediments in the No Name stream that receives the liquid waste from tannery industry in the city of Governor Edison Lobão and in the Posse stream which is a tributary of the river Campo Alegre. The determination of potentially toxic metals, collected in five (5) sampling points and periods of dry and rainy seasons, were made by spectrophotometry and physical and chemical parameters: pH, turbidity and electrical conductivity. The results showed significant variations in metal concentrations investigated denoting anthropogenic character input associated with the lithology of the region, which together with point sources contribute to the deterioration of surface water of water bodies studied here.

Key words: contamination; water bodies; tanning; chromium salts; sediments.