Concentrations of heavy metals tend to increase, as the size of the sediments gets finer. However at two sites of Damodar River, near mining areas, the coarser particles show similar or even higher heavy metal concentrations than the finer ones. The superior residence time and presence of coarser particles from mining wastes are often responsible for higher metal content in the coarser size fractions. The chemical fractionation study shows that lithogenic is the major chemical phase for heavy metals.

The distribution of Si, Al, Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Ni and Cr in different grain-size fractions and geochemical association of Fe, Mn, Cu and Zn with <63-?m size fraction of bed sediments of Damodar River has been studied. Fe and Mn are the chief elements of the lithogenic lattice, made up of 34-63% and 22-59%, respectively, of total concentrations. Fe-Mn oxide and organic bound fractions are noteworthy phases in the non-lithogenic fraction in the bed of Damodar River.

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