State of Petroleum- Related Heavy Metals Contamination in Mangrove Forests of the Northeren Persian Gulf

Oil spills have always been a source of health concern and of legal consequences. For example, substantive environmental claims of I.R. Iran were registered before the United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC) for damage inflicted to various components of offshore and inland ecosystems following Iraq’s destroying of Kuwaiti oil wells and island terminals in1991. Damages included losses occurred in the form of depletion of natural resources, degradation of environmental attributes, costs of preventive and mitigation operations, clean-up tasks and restoration activities. Although, the legal ramification of claims followed a procedural path set forth by the governing council and enforced by UNCC, it was necessary to conduct field research and collect hard data to prove the case. In this context, as a part of Claim 5000347, triplicate sediment samples collected from 65 stations located in mangrove growing areas of Northern coasts of the Persian Gulf during spring and fall, 2001 were analyzed for petroleum-related heavy metals, i. e. Nickel and Vanadium and sulfur using XRF-spectroscopy . Results indicated the widespread distribution of heavy metals in mangrove ecosystems of the Northern Persian Gulf. Degree of contaminations in Qeshm- Khamir Complex and Nayband Bay Area are compared and aspects of knowledge gained are discussed. Key Words: Northern Persian Gulf, Marine Oil Pollution, Heavy Metal Contamination