No abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the concentrations of U, Th, V, Mo, and Zr in natural waters taken from Turkey. Among these water species, Lake Van is the largest soda lake and the fourth largest closed basin on Earth Mediterranean Sea water. Mean Mo and V concentrations in the studied water samples were found to be in ranges of 0.1-17 and 2.7-113 mg L À1 , respectively. The obtained highest U concentration in Lake Van correlates with the highest Mo and Zr levels compared to the Lake Hazar and river waters. These results imply that there is a young occurrence of uranium minerals around Lake Van. It is concluded that there is about 50.000 ton of uranium in Lake Van water.

Five‐step sequential extractions were employed to fractionation of Ni, Cr and Cu in soil polluted by anthropogenic activities and determine the mobility of the metals. Twelve samples were collected on an agricultural area that was located near an airport and intercity roads in Elazig‐Turkey. Exchangeable, organically bounded, carbonate bounded, adsorbed species on Fe and Mn oxides and residual species (except silicates) of Ni, Cr and Cu were extracted into solution by using CaCl2, Na4P2O7, Na2EDTA, NH2OH–HCl and HNO3–H2O2, respectively. Mobile metal concentrations in fractions and total recoverable in soils were determined by using inductively coupled plasma‐optical emission spectrometry (ICP‐OES). Total recoverable Ni, Cr and Cu concentrations were in the range of 40–119, 45–126 and 23–72 mg kg−1, respectively. It was observed that total concentrations of metals in some of the samples were higher than the permitted values. The sum of the mobile percentages of metals was found to be lower than 50%. The Ni, Cr and Cu percentages for exchangeable species are in the ranges of 0.18–1.64, 0.03–0.59 and 0.42–2.53%, respectively.

Concentrations of five toxic metals were determined in two fish species from Turkish cities during 2010-2011. The obtained lead concentrations for all of the studied Trachurus trachurus (mean 777 μg kg(-1)) and Cyprinus carpio (mean 439 μg kg(-1)) samples were found to be higher than the maximum level (ML) of 300 μg kg(-1), while Cd concentrations in the same samples were lower than the ML. Mean chromium (501 μg kg(-1)), Ni (272 μg kg(-1)) and Cu (785 μg kg(-1)) concentrations in T. trachurus were significantly higher than in C. carpio (336 μg Cr kg(-1), 229 μg Ni kg(-1) and 394 μg Cu kg(-1)), similar to those of Pb and Cd. Measured Pb concentrations in T. trachurus tissues are significantly higher than the ML, while those of Cd in both T. trachurus and C. carpio species were lower than the ML values.