Water Quality Examination in the Stream Sediment of River Sitnica – the Assessment of Toxic Trace Elements

It is presently well-recognized that the contamination of aquatic sediments in Kosovo is a widespread phenomenon. The observation of the chemical analyses of water and sediments is essential to determine the extent of trace elements in these ecosystems. Hence, in order to be able to determine the mass concentration of the predominant elements present in river Sitnica, inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) was used for this research. Moreover, a comparison of the mass concentration of water elements with the mass concentration of the elements found in the Sitnica sediments was provided. Utilizing the results obtained from the ICP-MS analysis, it was shown that the mass concentration of nickel, arsenic, zinc, cadmium, lead, copper, aluminum in certain water sample stations exceeds the permissible sediment quality criteria. Considering the toxicity that heavy metals exert on the aquatic environment, this research aimed to assess and measure the metal toxicity, because only then, a proper solution can be suggested to sustain freshwater ecosystems and to prevent constant damage from the human activity.