Measuring the Extent of the Environmental Pollution in the Waters of the Al-Diwani River by Certain Trace Elements Resulting from Al-Diwani Textile Factory Using Spectroscopic Methods

The textile industry is a key source of pollution in fresh water. The concentration of key heavy metal pollutants (cobalt, nickel, lead, mercury, cadmium, copper, and iron) as well as pH value and conductivity were measured in water samples taken from the input and output (waste water) of Al-Diwani textile factory on the Al-Diwani River, Iraq. These samples were measured using two methods, flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry and spectrometry. This paper considers the relative effectiveness of each method for measuring the concentrations of the elements, and discusses which method is best for which element. It was found that the first method is more accurate for measuring the concentrations for all elements except iron.