Contamination and sediment quality evaluation of toxic metals enrichment in heavy mineral-rich beach sands of Arish City, Northeastern Egypt

Coastal mineral placers are unconsolidated detritus sediments enriched with heavy minerals in coastal environments and considered a sink and source of heavy metal contaminants. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the enrichment of heavy mineral-rich sands along the Mediterranean Sea coastline of Arish City, Egypt, with toxic metals. Therefore, beach sediment samples were collected and analyzed geochemically using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). The quality of these sediments, metal geochemical associations, pollution levels, and ecological risks were evaluated using pollution indices, statistical analysis, and sediment quality guidelines. The mean values of heavy metals displayed a declining trend of Fe > Al > Zn > Mn > Pb > Cr > Mo > Cu > Co, in addition to exhibiting significant heterogeneity, which may be attributed to both natural and anthropogenic loads. The correlation of metals showed that most elements (except for Cu, Mo, and Zn) are geogenic in nature, while principal component analysis suggested that Mn oxides/hydroxides act as effective sorbents for Zn. Pb and Cr contents were higher than the corresponding ecotoxicological data in many sites, demonstrating harmful impacts on the biological community. The pollution load index (PLI) values were higher than unity at all sites, indicating the deterioration of beach sediment quality. Based on the comparison with different worldwide studies and some geochemical reference values, the beach sediments of the study area were significantly enriched with heavy metals. Ultimately, this study judged that heavy metal contents in Arish beach sediment are directly related to coastal mineral placers.