International Journal of Environmental Science and Development

Abstract—Heavy metal levels were monitored during 2021–2022 on six campaigns along the Shkumbini river. Water samples were collected from eights stations, covering the whole watershed area through six successive monitoring expeditions. Samples analyses were performed by Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (GF-AAS). The amount of heavy metals in water was found to be in the order Fe> Ni> Cu> Cr> Cd> Pb> Mn> Zn. Principal component analysis and correlation analysis results showed that variation of heavy metals elements in Shkumbini River is related to the heterogeneity of human activities, which is mainly affected by urban industrial and agricultural pollution, and natural environments of the river with different background values. According to the CE Directive (75/440/EEC) and the European Community Directive (EEC/EEAC/EC 78/659) on “Quality of fresh waters supporting fish life” the results obtained show that the content of iron, manganese, lead, nickel, mercury and copper are quite high for stations Sh 4, Sh 5, Sh 6, Sh 7 and Sh 8, above the allowed limits classifying these waters polluted. The results of this study could provide useful information for further understanding of the transportation of heavy metals in the Shkumbini River water system.

Keywords—graphite furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy heavy, metals, Shkumbini River, water quality

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Cite: Elvin Çomo, Albana Hasimi, Edlira Tako, and Rrapo Ormeni, "Evaluation of Seasonal Distribution of Heavy Metals in the Water of Shkumbini River, Albania," International Journal of Environmental Science and Development vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 140-145, 2024.

Copyright © 2024 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).