scholarly journals Assessment of metals contamination and ecological risk in ait Ammar abandoned iron mine soil, Morocco

2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Nouri ◽  
Abd El Majid Haddioui

Abstract The present study is an attempt to assess the pollution intensity and corresponding ecological risk of phosphorus and metals including Cd, Cr, Cu, Zn, Pb and Fe using various indices like geo-accumulation index, enrichment factor, pollution and ecological risk index. In all, 20 surface soil samples were collected from the Ait Ammar iron mine of Oued Zem city, province of Khouribga, in central Morocco. The concentrations of heavy metals in soil samples were used to assess their potential ecological risks. According to the results of potential ecological risk index (RI), pollution index (PI), geo-accumulation index (Igeo), enrichment factor (EF), potential contamination index (Cp), contaminant factor (Cf) and degree of contamination (Cd), based on the averages, considerable pollution of metals in soils of study area was observed. The consequence of the correlation matrix and principal component analysis (PCA) indicated that Fe, Cu, Zn, Cr and P mainly originated from natural sources and Cd and Pb are mostly derived from anthropogenic sources. The results showed that these metals in soil were ranked by severity of ecological risk as Pb > Cd > Cu > Cr > Zn, based on their single-element indexes. In view of the potential ecological risk (RI), soils from all soil samples showed a potential ecological risk. These results will provide basic information for the improvement of soil environment management and heavy metal pollution prevention in Ait Ammar.

Minerals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 650
Author(s):  
Faustino Dinis ◽  
Hongyan Liu ◽  
Qingdong Liu ◽  
Xuewen Wang ◽  
Meng Xu

The background value of cadmium (Cd) in soil and water sediments in the karst area is 0.31 mg kg−1, with a typical high background of cadmium geochemistry. It is well-known that Cd is classified as a highly toxic metal. Therefore, at the Yelang reservoir in Guizhou province, eco-toxicological tests were carried out using Daphnia pulex. The Geo-Accumulation Index and Potential Ecological Risk Index were used to assess the environmental risk of Cd in sediments. The Cd contents in the sediments of Yelang reservoir ranged from 2.51 to 5.23 mg kg−1, while the LC50 values of the acute toxicity test of Daphnia pulex and Cd at 24, 48, 72, and 96 h were 1.17, 0.50, 0.24, and 0.12 mg L−1, respectively, giving a Safe Concentration threshold of Cd of 1.20 × 10−3 mg L−1 in the water body. Based on curve fitting the solid–liquid two-phase distribution model of cadmium in Yelang reservoir was Y = 7.59 × 10−9 × X2.58 (R2 = 0.9995). The safety threshold sediment Cd concentration was 103 mg kg−1, and was much higher than the Cd content in the sediment of the Yelang reservoir. The Geo-Accumulation Index (Igeo 2.432–3.491) results show that the sediments had reached medium-strong or strong risk levels. The Potential Ecological Risk Index (Eri 242.8–505.9) reached a very high or extremely high-risk level. However, due to high concentrations of Ca2+ and Mg2+, and the pH being in the neutral–alkaline range of water body in karst areas, the Daphnia ecotoxicology evaluation method showed slight ecological risk, quite different from other assessment results, thus this method could be considered to use in such areas.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kalimur Rahman ◽  
Saurav Barua ◽  
Fahim Ahammad ◽  
Md. Akramul Alam

The Shitalakya River, located near Dhaka City of Bangladesh, supplies water to the city dwellers and hence it is essential to determine pollu-tion condition, ecological risk and sources of heavy metals in the river sediments. Sediment works as the sink and source of heavy metals in the riverine ecosystem. The samples collected from the ten sites of the Shitalakhya River were investigated in the study. Average concentra-tion of different heavy metals in the sediments are Cu>Zn>Ni>Pb>Cr>Cd. Geo-accumulation index reveals moderately pollute Cu concen-tration, unpolluted to moderately pollute Ni concentration and unpolluted for the rest of the heavy metals. The order of geo-accumulation index are Cu>Ni>Pb>Cd>Zn>Cr. Overall, the heavy metals render low potential ecological risk and the order of potential ecological risk index are Cd>Cu>Ni>Pb>Cr>Zn. Though the concentration of Cd is low in sediment, it poses higher ecological risk. Positive matrix factor-ization (PMF) identifies two sources of pollution, S1 and S2. Where, S1 consists with Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn; which come from industrial wastewater. S2 consists with Cr, Cd, Pb, Zn; which originate from natural sources. The outcomes of the study provide as a reference to plan, control and manage heavy metal pollution and protect the water source of the Shitalakhya River.    


Author(s):  
Muhammad Irfan Ahamad ◽  
Jinxi Song ◽  
Haotian Sun ◽  
Xinxin Wang ◽  
Muhammad Sajid Mehmood ◽  
...  

The sediment pollution caused by different metals has attracted a great deal of attention because of the toxicity, persistence, and bio-accumulation. This study focuses on heavy metals in the hyporheic sediment of the Weihe River, China. Contamination levels of metals were examined by using “geo-accumulation index, enrichment factor, and contamination factor” while ecological risk of metals were determined by “potential ecological risk and risk index”. The pollutant accumulation of metals ranked as follows: “manganese (Mn)   >   chromium (Cr)   >   zinc (Zn)   > copper (Cu)   >   nickel (Ni)   >   arsenic (As)   >   lead (Pb)”. The geo-accumulation index identified arsenic as class 1 (uncontaminated to moderate contamination), whereas Cu, Cr, Ni, Zn, Pb, and Mn were classified as class 0 (uncontaminated). According to the enrichment factor, arsenic originated through anthropogenic activities and Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, and Pb were mainly controlled by natural sources. The contamination factor elucidated that sediments were moderately polluted by (As, Cr, Cu, Zn, Mn, and Pb), whereas Ni slightly contaminated the sediments of the Weihe River. All metals posed a low ecological risk in the study area. The risk index revealed that contribution of arsenic (53.43 %) was higher than half of the total risk.


2014 ◽  
Vol 955-959 ◽  
pp. 2280-2284
Author(s):  
Kai Yue Gong ◽  
Pei Shi Qi ◽  
Yun Zhi Liu

In this study, the distribution and enrichment characters of heavy metals were explored. And the potential ecological risk levels of heavy metals were evaluated by geo-accumulation index method and potential ecological risk index method. The concentrations of heavy metals in sediments of Harbin section of Songhua River are: Zn>Pb>Cr>Cu>Ni>Cd. The enrichment degree of Zn is the highest, while Cd is the lowest. The potential ecological risk indexes of heavy metals in the sediments of section of Songhua River in Harbin are: Cd>Pb>Cu>Zn>Ni>Cr. The main heavy metals pollution is Cd, which has low content but considerable potential ecological risk and contributes most to RI. The ecological risk level of heavy metals in the sediments of the section of Songhua River in Harbin is moderate.


2013 ◽  
Vol 376 ◽  
pp. 463-467
Author(s):  
Cheng Di Dong ◽  
Chih Feng Chen ◽  
Chiu Wen Chen

This study was conducted using the data collected at the Anping Harbor, Taiwan to investigate and analyze Copper (Cu) contained in the sediments, and to evaluate the accumulation of Cr and the degree of its potential risk. The results show that samples collected at ten monitoring points contain 23380 mg/kg of Cu with an average of 114±101 mg/kg. The spatial distribution of Cu reveals that the Cu concentration is relatively high in the Bamboo River mouth region, and gradually diminishes toward the harbor region. This indicates that upstream industrial and municipal wastewater discharges along the river bank are major sources of pollution. Results from the enrichment factor and geo-accumulation index analyses imply that the Bamboo River mouth sediments can be characterized as severe enrichment and moderate to strong accumulation of Cu, respectively. However, results of potential ecological risk index indicate that the sediment has low ecological potential risk. The results can provide valuable information to developing future strategies for the management of river mouth and harbor.


Author(s):  
L. Salami ◽  
J. G. Akinbomi ◽  
R. J. Patinvoh

Soil contaminated with heavy metals poses an ecological risk especially to public health. The aim of this work is to assess the ecological risk of heavy metals in soil of Lagos State University (LASU), Epe, Lagos State, Nigeria. Soil samples were collected from 8 different points in LASU which were stored in various polythene bags labeled SS1 – SS8. A control sample was taken 1 km away from LASU and was labeled SC9. All the sampling locations were identified using handheld Global Positioning System (GPS) for the purpose of universal identification. The soil samples were analysed for nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn), chromium (Cr), cadmium (Cd) and Iron (Fe) using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. Enrichment factor (EF), potential ecological risk (Ei) and ecological risk index (RI) were carried out using the data from the analysis. The results revealed that all the EF values were less than 2 except that of lead in SS1. The Ei values were less than 40 except that of lead in SS1. Moreover RI values of all the soil samples investigated were less than 150. It was obvious from this work that the soil of LASU, Epe, Lagos State, were not enriched with heavy metals and have a low potential ecological risk.


2014 ◽  
Vol 535 ◽  
pp. 287-292
Author(s):  
Yu Sung Hsiao ◽  
Yi Kuo Chang ◽  
Jiann Yuh Lou ◽  
Cheng Di Dong ◽  
Chih Feng Chen ◽  
...  

The distribution, enrichment, accumulation, and potential ecological risk of chromium (Cr) in the surface sediments of Anping Harbor, Taiwan, were investigated. Sediment samples from ten locations were collected and characterized for Cr, aluminum, water content, organic matter, and grain size. The results show that samples collected at all monitoring points contain 23.3–881.3 mg/kg of Cr with an average of 250.0±265.4 mg/kg. The spatial distribution of Cr reveals that the Cr concentration is relatively high in the Bamboo River mouth region, and gradually diminishes toward the harbor region. This indicates that upstream industrial and municipal wastewater discharges along the river bank are major sources of pollution. Results from the enrichment factor and geo-accumulation index analyses imply that the Bamboo River mouth sediments can be characterized as severe enrichment and moderate to strong accumulation of Cr, respectively. However, results of potential ecological risk index indicate that the sediment has low ecological potential risk. The results can provide valuable information to developing future strategies for the management of river mouth and harbor.


2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 151-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amir Hossein Baghaie ◽  
Forough Aghili

Background: Soil pollution with heavy metals seriously threatens soil quality, food safety, and humanhealth. This study was conducted to determine the soil pollution level and ecological risk assessmentof different heavy metals in agricultural soils around Nakhlak Pb-Zn mine, located in Anarak district,Nain county of Isfahan province.Methods: A total of 50 soil samples were collected from agricultural land around Nakhlak mine andanalyzed to determine the concentrations of Pb, Cd, Zn, Ni, Cu, and Mn. The geo-accumulation index(Igeo), enrichment factor (EF), and potential ecological-risk index (Er) were used to assess the level ofsoil pollution with heavy metals.Results: The mean concentrations of Pb, Cd, Zn, Ni, Cu, and Mn were 355, 2.72, 347, 26, 36, and505 mg/kg, respectively, which were higher than the background values of world soils. Based on theIgeo index, the study area was moderately to heavily contaminated with Pb and Zn, uncontaminated tomoderate contaminated with Cd and Cu, and uncontaminated with Mn and Ni. According to the EFvalues, the study soil was moderately contaminated with Mn, Ni, and Cu, significantly contaminatedwith Cd and Zn, and highly enriched with Pb. The RI values showed a moderate level of heavy metalscontamination in the study soil.Conclusion: According to the results, the ecological risk of heavy metals for ecosystem in agriculturallands around Nakhlak Pb-Zn mine is moderate. However, the contamination status should be consideredperiodically.


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