THE HISTORY OF METAL POLLUTION NEAR A LEAD SMELTER IN SPENCER GULF, SOUTH-AUSTRALIA

Two cores were collected from supratidal estuarine sediment near the l ead smelter located at Port Pirie, South Australia. These sediment cor es were analyzed for trace metal (Cu, Pb, Zn, Fe, Cd and Ag) concentra tions and excess Pb-210 activity. Both cores, PP1 and PP2. exhibited t race metal enrichments well above the expected background concentratio ns for uncontaminated sediments. In particular, PP2 located down the p revailing wind direction from the smelter, contained extremely high co ncentrations of Pb, Zn and Cd, 2960, 5390, and 120 mugg-1. By combinin g the metal concentration data and the excess Pb-210 data we were able to construct histories of the flux of metal to the sediment. Maximum trace metal fluxes to the Gulf appear to have occurred in the 1950-196 0s while minima took place during the Great Depression period into Wor ld War II. The maxima fluxes of Pb, Cd and Zn downwind from the smelte r are as high as ever reported in an aquatic environment.