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Burullus lagoon is part of Egypt's protected area network. The lagoon serves as a reservoir for drainage water discharged from agricultural areas, and the lake's sediments provide a unique opportunity to record environmental behavior and reconstruct of the heavy metal contamination history. In the present study, the sediment chronology, sedimentation rates, and metal accumulation fluxes were estimated in four sediment cores using 210Pb dating models to evaluate how human activities have affected the coastal environment. Using the radioisotopes 210Pb and 137Cs, radiometric dating was carried out using gamma-ray spectrometry. At the Egypt Second Research Reactor (ETRR-2), the element concentrations were determined using the instrumented neutron activation analysis (INAA- k0 method). Our findings show that the constant rate of supply (CRS), which has been verified with the peak of artificial radionuclide 137Cs, is the best model performed for the chronology of Burullus Lagoon. The average sedimentation rate, according to 210Pb dating models, is 0.85 cm/year. The large variation in sedimentation rates, especially after the 1990s, is consistent with an increase in the anthropogenic flux of heavy metals. This may be led into a significant environmental problem such as reducing the size of the lake and degrading the quality the water in Burullus Lagoon. Enrichment factor (EF) of the studied elements displayed the following order: Cl > Ca > Na > Br > Zn > Ta > Ti > V > Cr > Sc > Mg > Mn > Fe > Hf which is higher than unity. Furthermore, the Nemerow pollution index (PI Nemerow) revealed that pollution was increasing in the direction of the drains and slightly polluted. Consequently, pollutant indices showed that urbanization and industrial development may have increased the depositional fluxes of the metals in sediments over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronologically, the main exposures in the study area include; tonalite, granodiorite, adamellite, Hammamat Sediments, monzogranite, syenogranite, rapakivi syenogranite, alkali feldspar granite and dykes. This work aims to determine the suitability of the granitic rocks for using as ornamental stones through detecting their radiological and ecological impacts. The studied samples were measured radiometrically by using Na-I detector for determination of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K concentrations. External hazard indices (Hex) in some samples are more than unity, also, the (Raeq) are higher than the exemption limits (370 Bq.kg−1) exceeds the upper limit of exposure. The hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) was applied to investigate the correlation between the radionuclides and the corresponding radiological hazard variables. Based on the statistical analysis, 232Th and 226Ra mainly contribute to the radioactive risk of the studied rocks. Regarding ecological indices, 42.1% of younger granite samples have Pollution load index values greater than 1, indicating deterioration, while the majority of older granite samples are lower than 1 suggesting perfection samples. Where, some sample from the older granitoids and younger granites have many radiological and ecological parameters greater than the recommended international limits, so, these samples should not be used in construction for safety reasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The original article can be found online at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-33761-5.Correction to: Environmental Science and Pollution Researchhttps://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-33761-5The 4th author name is missing the middle initial. It should be Said A. Shetaia.The Original article has been corrected.Publisher's NoteSpringer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.By Alia Ghanem; Afaf Nada; Hosnia Abu‑Zeid; Waiel E. Madcour; Said A. Shetaia and Noha ImamReported by Author; Author; Author; Author; Author; Author [Extracted from the article]

Edku lagoon is one of the important aquaculture sectors in the Nile Delta of Egypt. Recently, the lagoon has become a sink of discharge wastewater from different anthropogenic sources. The present work aims to study physicochemical parameters, level of nutrients and heavy metal concentrations in water of the lagoon to assess the water quality and identify the potential pollution source(s). Water quality index (WQI), eutrophication index and multiple heavy metal pollution indices (HPI, HEI, PI and Cd) in addition to evaluation of human health risk (HQdermal) model were applied. The obtained data revealed that physicochemical parameter varied between 7.62 - 8.90 for pH, 1.2 - 12.2 g/l for salinity, 3.5 - 12.5 mg/l for dissolved oxygen, 1.3 - 1.9 mg/l for ammonia, 0.065 - 0.191 mg/l for nitrite, 0.217 - 0.915 mg/l nitrate, 0.198 - 0.527 mg/l for orthophosphate, and 51.32 - 102.7 µg/l for chlorophyll-a. The average concentrations of heavy metals were 0.439, 0.322, 0.290, 0.328, 0.059, 0.040, 0.00005 ppm for Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Pb, Cd and Hg, respectively. Based on WQI, the lagoon was classified as bad water, while EI result varied between eutrophic to mesotrophic. The pollution indices revealed to lagoon water is highly contaminated based on HPI, HEI and Cd and varied between slightly affected to seriously affected by heavy metals according to PI. Human health risk showed that, HQdermal for all metals except Cd lower than the unity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]