Selective extraction as an estimate of bioavailabiliy of as, cd, co, cr, cu, fe, mn, ni, pb and zn in marine sediments collected from the Central Adriatic Sea

Sediment samples collected from the Central Adriatic Sea were leached at room temperature with phthalate buffers of pH 3 and 6 and with 0.5M HCl. The leaching was aimed at estimating the mobilization of elements under different pH conditions. The buffers were used to simulate the bioavailability of elements to benthic fishes and invertebrates. The leach results were compared to total concentrations obtained by digesting samples with 65% HNO3 at 120 C for 8 h.