Articles scientifiques
M. Cheggour, W. J Langston, A. Chafik, H. Texier, H. Idrissi, and A. Boumezzough (1999)
Phosphate industry discharges and their impact on metal contamination and intertidal macrobenthos: Jorf Lasfar and Safi coastlines (Morocco)
Toxicological & Environmental Chemistry, 70(1-2):159-179.
At Jorf Lasfar and Safi, on the Moroccan Atlantic coastline, there are chemical industry plants that produce phosphate derivates including phosphoric acid and fertilizers, together with by-products such as sulphuric acid. The liquid effluents of the plants are discharged directly into the sea. In order to evaluate their impact, we have compared the distribution of intertidal macrobenthos in several locations, along gradients subjected to differing degrees of phosphate industry pollution. The results illustrate how biological diversity and species densities decrease abruptly in the vicinity of these industrial effluents, and also how recovery, as measured by the same parameters, proceeds with distance from the discharge points. Mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis were heavily contaminated by Cu and Cd at both study locations and their shells showed four kinds of deformities, notably at the Jorf Lasfar site, where the effluents were more aggressive (high in metals, low pH)
Actions sur le document
