Behavior of Surface Sediment from the José Antonio Alzate Dam in Mexico as a Deposit of Heavy Metals

Abstract

The problem of contamination of Lerma River in the State of Mexico, México, has been studied in an integral way, since it is one of the rivers of importance due to its geographical situation in the country. José Antonio Dam is the main receiving body of this river that is being contaminated by, industrial wastewater, of which about 70% is inorganic, as well as discharges municipal and agricultural, driving a lot of material in suspension. This dam acts as a regulator of avenues and its water is used for agricultural irrigation and its sediments are used as sludge to improve agricultural soil in the surroundings. One of the studies that have been carried out is to determine the geochemical distribution of heavy metals in the sediments of this dam, as well as its adsorptive capacity towards different metals. It has been observed that these sediments acts as metal contaminants sequester. Knowing the composition and morphology of these sediments can provide information to understand the mobility of different heavy metals it contains, and potential health risk, which can finally lead to the establishment of purification capacity of this sludge.