An assessment of heavy metal pollution in the sediments along the Albanian Coast

An evaluation is presented of heavy metal pollution, based on statistical analysis of metal concentrations in the sediments from an area along the Albanian Coast. This includes a detailed description of levels of the most important pollutants. Examination of lognormal metal distribution plots indicates that the curve inflections may be operationally used as a threshold between polluted and unpolluted areas. Fe is used for mineralogical normalization of the data. The normalization procedure identifies the most polluted areas. It is clearly demonstrated that some industrial activities such as mining, harbour and chlor-alkali plant, notably affect the heavy metals concentration in the sediments. An evaluation of bakcground levels for the sediments of the Adriatic Albanian coast is also carried out.