Sediments in the Tema Harbour (Ghana) Chemical Pollution and Sedimentation Rates IHE Delft PhD Thesis Series

Sediment pollution and accumulation in harbours are major environmental issues and studies that advance their solutions are essential for harbour sustainability. This book provides the first comprehensive assessment of chemical pollution in sediments and sediment accumulation rates in the tropical Tema Harbour (Ghana). This book contributes to improving our ability to use an integrated approach involving sediment chemistry and bioassays in one comprehensive assessment of the contamination state of a tropical coastal environment. Whole-sediment toxicity bioassays using the amphipod Corophium volutator and the polychaete Hediste diversicolor as bioindicators were combined with data on concentrations of total metal and metal binding forms, radionuclides, organochlorine pesticides and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in bottom sediments as well as total metal concentrations in settling silt-clay particles collected by sediment traps to characterise the hazard, risk and impact of sediments from the tropical coastal Tema Harbour.

1. Introduction 2. Literature review 3. Radioactivity concentrations in surface sediments of Tema Harbour (Ghana)
4. DDT, HCH and PAH contamination in surface sediments of Tema Harbour (Ghana) 5. Metal fractionation in surface sediments of Tema Harbour (Ghana) 6. Hazard, risk and impact assessment of sediments from Tema Harbour (Ghana) 7. Settling fluxes and sediment accumulation rates in Tema Harbour (Ghana) 8. Settling fluxes and ecotoxicological risk assessment of fine sedimentary metals in Tema Harbour (Ghana) 9. General discussion and conclusions

Benjamin O. Botwe is an Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Marine and Fisheries Sciences, University of Ghana, where teaches introductory courses in oceanography, limnology, aquatic ecology, marine biogeochemistry and pollution. He holds a Master of Philosophy degree in Chemistry, with a specialization in Analytical/Environmental Chemistry. Currently, he is a PhD fellow at the UNESCO-IHE Institute of Water Education in Delft, The Netherland, where he belongs to the pollution prevention and control chair group. His research interest include coastal/marine pollution and ecotoxicological risk assessment, sediment/pollutant dynamics, metal and organic contaminant biogeochemistry, seafood contamination and human health risks assessment, water quality, environmental radioactivity and ocean acidification. He has several scientific publications including journal articles and book chapters and has participated in scientific conferences and workshops around the world.