Paper Title
Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Surface Sediments from the Aquatic Environments Located in Crowded Areas of Southern Romania

Abstract
Evaluation of the potential environmental risk of the presence of heavy metals in surface sediments collected from aquatic environment situated in crowded areas has been performed. Seven heavy metals (Cd, Hg, Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb and Zn) were determined in sediments of aquatic environments called Colentina, Dambovita and Arges Rivers, from ten sampling locations L1 – L10, to assess the risk of the presence of mentioned heavy metals. The degree of contamination was evaluated using the contamination factor (Cfi) and the contamination degree indices (Cd). The risk assessment was performed using the potential ecological risk factor (Eri) and the potential ecological risk index (RI). The ecological risk levels of heavy metals in the sediments from this area were low. Keywords - Heavy Metals, Sediments, Potential Ecological Risk.