Geochemical speciation and risk assessment of metals in the river sediments from Dan River Drainage, China

Abstract A comprehensive study was conducted to explore the concentration and distribution of heavy metals in farm soils and river sediments around a gold mining area in Fiji with particular emphasis on ecological and human health risks. Representative samples were acquired from farm sites in Matanagata Village and the Nasivi river, both situated around the Vatukoula gold mine limited (VGML), the largest operational gold mine in Fiji. Following aqua regia digestion and analysis by AAS, the average soil concentrations for Cu (110.4 mg kg–1), Cr (136.2 mg kg–1) and Cd (1.7 mg kg–1), and sediment concentrations for Pb (69.31 mg kg–1), Cd (1.82 mg kg–1), Cu (88.95 mg kg–1) and Cr (143.12 mg kg–1) were found to exceed the recommended guideline values. Based on the geo–accumulation index (Igeo) and enrichments factor (EF), the farm soils were moderately contaminated with Cd while the and sediments showed moderate to significant contamination with Pb, Ni and Cr. Ecological risk assessment confirmed moderate to considerable ecological risk in the metal–contaminated samples, with Cd and Pb generally presenting greater risk compared to other metals. Multivariate analyses including principal component analysis pointed to gold mining activities as a potential source for heavy metals in the area. Furthermore, human health risk assessment (HRA) indicated that while adults faced no significant carcinogenic or non–carcinogenic risks from metal exposure (HI < 1), children were at more risk from Co, Mn, Cr and Fe exposure, as well as potential carcinogenic risk from Cd (ILCR = 1.46E–04).

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Organic matter and heavy metal in river sediments of southwestern coastal Korea: Spatial distributions, pollution, and ecological risk assessment

Marine Pollution Bulletin ◽

10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111466 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 159 ◽

pp. 111466 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Hae Jong Yang ◽

Hyo Jin Jeong ◽

Ki Moon Bong ◽

Dal Rae Jin ◽

Tae-Woo Kang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Assessment ◽

Heavy Metal ◽

Organic Matter ◽

Ecological Risk ◽

Ecological Risk Assessment ◽

River Sediments ◽

Spatial Distributions

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Geochemical speciation and risk assessment of metals in sediments of the Lobo-Broa Reservoir, Brazil

Management of Environmental Quality An International Journal ◽

10.1108/meq-09-2015-0171 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 28 (3) ◽

pp. 430-443 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Eduardo Cimino Cervi ◽

Felippe Fernandes ◽

Renato Billia de Miranda ◽

Frederico Fábio Mauad ◽

Leandro Michalovicz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Assessment ◽

Ecological Risk ◽

Biological Effects ◽

Sediment Quality ◽

Aquatic Biota ◽

Risk Assessment Code ◽

Content Type ◽

Total Metal ◽

Metal Contents ◽

Geochemical Speciation

Purpose Brazilian sediment quality criteria were established based on pseudo-total metal contents, which is not suitable to determine their bioavailability and the ecological risk for aquatic biota. Therefore, the geochemical speciation of five metals (Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb and Zn) was determined to assess the distribution and ecological risk of sediments in a tropical shallow reservoir from Brazil. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach A survey of metals in ten representative stations of surface sediments (0-20 cm) from Carlos Botelho (Lobo-Broa) Reservoir was conducted during the dry season in April 2014. Sediment parameters were measured in situ. The geochemical speciation of metals was carried out using the modified three-stage BCR-701 procedure (Davutluoglu et al., 2011) and compared with pseudo-total metal contents. Findings Contamination at S-1 and S-8 was more severe than other sampling sites, especially for Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn. Metals such as Cu, Ni and Zn occasionally may be associated with adverse biological effects based on the comparison with sediment quality guidelines. The risk assessment code suggests no risk for Fe and low risk for Cu and Ni. Originality/value Geochemical speciation of metals could be useful in developing effective management strategies to control metal pollution in the Lobo-Broa Reservoir. Substantial amounts of Pb (classified as medium risk) were bound to humic substances and/or insoluble metal sulfides, and could pose serious risk to the benthic community through the food chain. Zinc at S-1, S-3 and S-8 showed high risk, indicating that an appreciable portion of Zn could be available to aquatic biota.

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