Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Surface Sediments from the Yanghe River, China

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Jing Li¹ 

[1] Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; E-Mail

关键词: emergency pollution event;    Index of geoaccumulation;    community bureau of reference (BCR);    sediment quality guidelines;    risk index;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijerph111212441

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

The magnitude and ecological relevance of metal pollution from the upstream of water sources after emergency pollution events was investigated by applying a set of complementary sediment quality assessment methods: (1) geochemical assessment based on background value (the geoaccumulation index); (2) comparisons with sediment quality guidelines (SQGs); (3) an evaluation of the combined pollution according to the risk index (RI); and (4) investigation of the chemical patterns of target heavy metals (Cd, Zn, Cr, Pb, Ni). The geoaccumulation indices (I_geo) suggested that the magnitude of heavy metal pollution of the sediment of Yanghe River decreased in the order of Cd > Zn > Pb > Cr > Ni. Risk analysis also suggested that Cd and Zn concentrations were sufficiently elevated as to cause adverse biological effects in this study area. According to the RI values, 27% of total sampling sites showed considerable ecological risk for the water body, and 53% of total sampling sites showed very high ecological risk for the waterbody. Sediment-bound Cd was found to be predominantly associated with the exchangeable phase of the sediment (25%–68%), while Cr, Ni, Zn and Pb showed the strongest association with the residual fractions (60%–92%, 53%–67%, 24%–85% and 35%–67%, respectively).

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.