Heavy metals at the bottom: geochemistry of sediments in the Hatillo reservoir
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The Hatillo Dam, located in Sanchez Ramirez province, Dominican Republic, constitutes the largest reservoir in the insular Caribbean. This study aimed to determine the geochemical content of sediments in the upper part of the reservoir using portable X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (pXRF). Eight samples were collected from the Yuna, Maimon, and Sinc rivers, as well as from the reservoir bed. Results revealed concentrations of arsenic, chromium, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc, silver, mercury, titanium, lead, gold, molybdenum, and iron. It was concluded that heavy-metal enrichment is due to three main factors: anthropogenic activities from the mining district, agricultural practices, and human waste contamination, in addition to natural terrigenous processes. The greatest deposition of contaminated sediments was found in the floodplain of the Sinc River, near the Cerro Maimon fiscal reserve.
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