Abstract--Surface sediments of the Guanabara Bay (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) were analyzed by a sequential extraction procedure for Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Zn, Mn and Fe, determining their distribution among five geochemical phases and in the nitric acid extractable phase. Bioavailable phases and non-bioavailable phases have been determined in six transects in the bay to define the significant level of pollution due to sediment meLal contamination. A multiple correlation showed limited responsibility of Mn and Fe oxides and humic acids in the adsorption process, which allowed discrimination among the different processes and suggested the strong influence of the hydrogen sulfide present in the highly reduced bay bottom environment. The authors suggest the need to avoid disturbing bottom sediment by dredging or by artificial bottom aeration which could result in a rapid worsening of the environment due to the accelerated formation of more soluble oxygenated metal compounds making the toxic metals much more available to the benthic fauna and to the bay biota in general. © 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd

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This paper reports the use of high performance size exclusion chromatography (HPSEC) as a tool to assess NOM removal by coagulation. Quantitative information such as percentage removal can be determined after "peak-fitting" the HPSEC molecular weight profile of the source water. A peak-fitting approach was developed based on the molecular weight profile of dissolved organic matter from surface water. A sequential jar testing procedure with five treatment steps was used to characterize organics and to confirm that several NOM components were recalcitrant to coagulation with alum. Despite differences found in both the concentration and character of NOM in three surface waters studied, the final concentrations and characteristics (e.g., molecular weight profile) were very similar after five treatment stages. The molecular weight profiles of the recalcitrant organics were subsequently used to build a peak-fitting technique for NOM removal. The approach was validated by further jar test results of several other water sources, such as ground and river waters, including one found to be very difficult to treat in terms of NOM removal by alum treatment. Predictions of removable and nonremovable organic fractions by coagulation using this peak fitting technique were found to be within 10% of actual values.