RESUMO
Analyses for the metals Cd, Pd and Cu in the estuary and bay of the Scine have been made. The site was chosen because of the very high tides, which produce considerable water displacement. For the purpose of analysis the metals have been divided into three categories: free metals, metals forming complexes that are unstable at low pH, and metals forming stable complexes that are destroyed in an acidic medium by ultraviolet radiation. The special properties of copper have been used to establish a "complexing capacity" of the different water samples studied. By making the simple hypothesis of the existence of an equilibrium of the type Cu + L right harpoon over left harpoon CuL, where L represents the ligand, the total ligand concentration, as well as the stability constants of the CuL complexes, has been determined. These results are presented and discussed.
