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Geological Society, London, Engineering Geology Special Publications
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Geological Society, London, Engineering Geology Special Publications; 1998; v. 14; p. 179-187;
DOI: 10.1144/GSL.ENG.1998.014.01.21
© 1998 Geological Society of London

Section 4: Pollutant behaviour on field sites

Contamination of sediments in the Forth Estuary, Scotland

P. Lindsay1, F. G. Bell1 & N. Hytiris2

1 Department of Geology and Applied Geology, University of Natal, Durban 4041, South Africa
2 Department of Energy and Environmental Technology, Caledonian University, Glasgow, UK

This paper considers the contamination of sediments in the Forth Estuary. When trace metals are released into the water column they can be transferred rapidly to the sediment phase by adsorption onto suspended particulate matter, to be followed by sedimentation. Intertidal flats may be considered as important trace metal sinks since they accumulate large amounts of suspended matter. Hence, in polluted estuaries the deposition of suspended particles on intertidal flats may thus cause severe contamination. The Forth Estuary has unique contamination for British estuaries: it is experiencing significant Hg pollution. In addition, due to the presence of a nuclear submarine base in the Forth Estuary, Co60 is detectable in the intertidal sediments. Temporal and spatial contamination patterns were analysed in relation to historical and present pollution point sources.