Heavy metals in freshly deposited stream sediments of rivers associated with urbanisation of the Ganga Plain, India

Freshly deposited stream sediments from six urban centres of the Ganga Plain were collected and analysed for heavy metals to obtain a general scenery of sediment quality. The concentrations of heavy metals varied within a wide range for Cr (115-817), Mn (440-1 750), Fe (28 700-61 100), Co (11.7-29.0), Ni (35-538), Cu (33-1 204), Zn (90-1 974), Pb (14-856) and Cd (0.14-114.8) in mg kg super(-1). Metal enrichment factors for the stream sediments were Cu > Cr > Ni and Cu > Zn > Cr > Ni, respectively. Stream sediments from Lucknow, Kanpur, Delhi and Agra urban centres have been classified by the proposed Sediment Pollution Index as highly polluted to dangerous sediments. Heavy metal analysis in the