[Heavy metals in water of the Skikda Bay]

The region of Skikda is one of the most important industrial poles of Algeria. The aim of the study is a qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the pollution by heavy metals of the marine water of the bay. The pollutants investigated are lead, cadmium and mercury because of their toxicity. The study is concerned mainly with the spatiotemporal evolution of the pollution on the extent of the bay. Concentrations of heavy metals metals vary from 4 microg l(-1) to 55 microg l(-1) for lead, 1 microg l(-1) to 17 microg l(-1) for cadmium and 0,1 to 1,1 microg l(-1) for mercury, which indicates a beginning of pollution of the site. Only small variation of the contents have been noted in a second investigation carried out one decade after the first one.