scholarly journals Topsoil Magnetic Susceptibility and Heavy Metal Contamination: A Case Study in Al-Muthanna Province, Iraq

2020 ◽  
pp. 371-381
Author(s):  
Nawrass Ameen
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Heavy Metal ◽  
Magnetic Properties ◽  
Magnetic Susceptibility ◽  
Metal Pollution ◽  
Heavy Metal Pollution ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Oil Refinery ◽  
Cement Plant ◽  
Rapid Urbanization

     Due to rapid urbanization and industrialization that occurred in Al- Muthanna province in southeastern Iraq during the last decade, pollutants such as heavy metals were emitted into the environment and became a serious threat to human health. Environmental pollution could be caused by different types of pollutants, which come from different sources.      This study aims to assess the environmental magnetism efficiency for heavy metal pollution assessment using the magnetic susceptibility technique which became a more rapid and cost-effective compared to conventional methods. Increasing heavy metal contents in soils causes an increase in the magnetic mineral concentration. The study area is located in Al- Muthanna province, southeast of Iraq, and contains three cement plants, an oil refinery, bricks factories, and power plants. Fifty topsoil and subsoil samples (0-50 cm depth) were collected from five sites; Al-Jinoob cement plant (one site), Samawa oil refinery (two sites) and Al- Muthanna cement plant (two sites). In this study, magnetic properties of samples in vertical sections and levels of heavy metal elements; of selected samples from regions with different geological settings were compared. The heavy metals analysis included chromium (Cu), iron (Fe), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), Arsenic (As) and lead (Pb), which could give indications of heavy metal pollution in soil. The highest magnetic susceptibility value (65.23 x10-8 m3kg-1) was recorded in Al-Muthanna cement plant (TSL-4) and the highest Cu concentration (602.57 ppm) was also recorded in Al-Muthanna cement plant (TSL-5-3). The results of magnetic properties show the dominance of coarse magnetite, which is supposed to have originated from pedogenic particles in natural soils, causing the positive correlation between magnetic susceptibility (χ) and anhysteretic remanent magnetisation (ARM). According to the results of frequency dependent susceptibility ratio (κfd%), the magnetic particles showed an admixture of multi-domain and pseudo-single domain behaviour. Magnetic susceptibility and heavy metal analyses results indicated emissions from nearby industrial plants. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) was carried out for heavy metal analyses which supported our results. Results of this study demonstrate the suitability of applying magnetic techniques for assessing environmental situations.  

Correlations between magnetic enhancement and heavy metal pollution in the urban soils of an industrial area in Shanghai

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mei Li
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Heavy Metal ◽  
Magnetic Susceptibility ◽  
Metal Pollution ◽  
Heavy Metal Pollution ◽  
Urban Soils ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Industrial Area ◽  
Toxic Heavy Metals ◽  
Baoshan District

<p>Correlations between magnetic enhancement and heavy metal pollution in the urban soils of an industrial area in Shanghai</p><p> </p><p>Mei Li, Zi-Chen He, Xue-Feng Hu</p><p>School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China</p><p> </p><p>Fifty-three topsoil samples (0-5 cm) on the sides of highways surrounding the Bao Steel Company were collected in Baoshan District of Shanghai, Southeast China. Physical-chemical properties and magnetic susceptibility of the topsoils were analyzed. Close to the Yangtze River Estuary, the soils in the study area in the northern part of Baoshan District, Shanghai, were mostly derived from tidal sediments of the estuary. The topsoils were thus alkaline, with pH in a range of 8.0-8.6. The content of organic matter in the topsoils was in a range of 8.0-78.6 mg g<sup>-1</sup>. The content of Fe in the topsoils varied greatly, possibly influenced by the industrial emissions from local metal smelters and power plants. The content of total Fe (Fe<sub>t</sub>) in the topsoils was in a range of 21.0-68.6 mg g<sup>-1</sup>, with an average of 33.7 mg g<sup>-1</sup>; free Fe (Fe<sub>d</sub>), 8.5-25.2 mg g<sup>-1</sup>, with an average of 13.8 mg g<sup>-1</sup>; amorphous Fe (Fe<sub>o</sub>), 2.2-40.4 mg g<sup>-1</sup>, with an average of 13.1 mg g<sup>-1</sup>. Correspondingly, the magnetic signals of the topsoils were significantly enhanced and varied greatly from site to site. Magnetic susceptibility of the topsoils was in a range of 35.3-1722.7×10<sup>-8</sup> m<sup>3</sup> kg<sup>-1</sup>, with an average of 408.5×10<sup>-8</sup> m<sup>3</sup> kg<sup>-1</sup>. The topsoil with the maximum magnetic susceptibility, 1722.7×10<sup>-8</sup> m<sup>3</sup> kg<sup>-1</sup>, was coarse in grain size and located beside some machinery, cement and material factories. Magnetic susceptibility of the topsoils was significantly correlated with Fe<sub>t</sub>, Fe<sub>d</sub> and Fe<sub>o</sub> (r=0.712, 0.777, 0.961, n=53; p<0.01). The contents of toxic heavy metals, Zn, Pb, Cr, Co, Mn and Ni, in the topsoils were also analyzed. It was found that heavy metals were highly accumulated in the topsoils. The contents of Mn, Cr and Ni in the topsoils were more than 2 times the background values in the soils of Shanghai, and Pb and Zn were more than 4 times the background values. Moreover, magnetic susceptibility of the topsoils was positively significantly correlated with the content of Zn, Mn and Ni (r=0.884, 0.819, 0.564, p<0.01; n=53). This suggests that magnetic susceptibility of the topsoils can be used to indicate the degree of heavy metal pollution to some extent. There are many iron smelting factories and coal-fired power plants in the study area, which emitted a high amount of Fe-containing magnetic particles. The small particles had a large surface area and often adsorbed toxic heavy metals. When the particles were settled down on the ground, both magnetic signals and heavy metal contents of the topsoils were enhanced simultaneously. Therefore, the magnetic techniques are a promising means to study and evaluate the pollution of urban soils.</p>

scholarly journals Assessment of Heavy Metal Pollution of the Snow Cover of the Severodvinsk Industrial District (Russia, the Arkhangelsk Region).

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Yu. Yakovlev ◽  
A.S. Druzhinina ◽  
E.N. Zykova ◽  
S.B. Zykov ◽  
N.L. Ivanchenko
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Heavy Metal ◽  
Snow Cover ◽  
Metal Pollution ◽  
Heavy Metal Pollution ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Solid Phase ◽  
Thermal Power ◽  
Industrial District ◽  
Arkhangelsk Region

Abstract In the present work, the content of heavy metals in soluble and insoluble forms of snow was investigated, as well as in waters from wells near the Severodvinsk industrial centre (Russia, the Arkhangelsk region). The content of heavy metals (Al, Fe, Ti, Mn, Zn, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Co, V, As, and Cd) in the melt snow filtrate and solid residue was measured using the ICP-MS method. On the territory of the city, there are high concentrations of metals, high values ​​of electrical conductivity and low pH values ​​in objects most susceptible to anthropogenic pollution. It was determined that in urban conditions the share of the solid-phase component increases, which indicates an increase in dust fallout. Statistical analysis showed that most of the metals in the snow cover are linked with each other by a strong correlation (r> 0.9), and also made it possible to identify sources of pollution, namely thermal power plants and shipbuilding enterprises. The calculation of various indices for assessing the snow quality and natural waters determined the level of heavy metal pollution in the Severodvinsk industrial district as extremely high and dangerous for public health. The radiation parameters of water from wells were studied and a satisfactory radioecological characterisation of the research area was established.

scholarly journals Identifying Microbial Distribution Drivers of Archaeal Community in Sediments from a Black-Odorous Urban River—A Case Study of the Zhang River Basin

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 1545
Author(s):  
Chao Shen ◽  
Jiaqi Zhao ◽  
Guangwu Xie ◽  
Yulai Wang ◽  
Qiang Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Heavy Metal ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Metal Pollution ◽  
Heavy Metal Pollution ◽  
Archaeal Community ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Microbial Distribution ◽  
Physicochemical Factors ◽  
Archaeal Communities

Rapid urbanization has destroyed urban water systems and led to blackened and odorous rivers. The heavily polluted rivers are always facing eutrophication and heavy metal pollution, while the combined effects of these environmental factors on the microbial diversity and distribution of the river microbial communities have not been adequately reported, especially the archaeal communities. In this study, we investigated the community structure and microbial distribution of sediment archaeal communities from an urban blackened and odorous river basin of the Zhang river, in Nanling, China. Results showed that the archaeal community from the eight sediment sites have average values of Shannon and Chao1 at 3.4921 and 232.7202, respectively. The community diversity and richness were different among samples. Halobacterota and Euryarchaeota were the most abundant phylum and Crenarchaeota also took up a considerable amount of the archaeal community. To reveal the main environmental drivers of the distribution of archaeal communities in sediment, the environmental physicochemical factors (total nitrogen, total phosphorus, oxidation/reduction potential, nitrate nitrogen, ammonia nitrogen, pH and total organic carbon) and heavy metals (Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, Pb and Hg) in sediment were determined. A redundancy analysis (RDA) revealed that Eh was the most prominent influencing factor, and As was the most influential heavy metal on the microbial distribution of archaeal communities. Furthermore, a variance partitioning analysis (VPA) was used to identify the impacts of physicochemical factors and heavy metals on the archaeal community distribution. Results showed that heavy metals have higher effects on archaeal community distribution than physicochemical factors. The present study suggested that the heavy metal pollution should be paid more attention in the microbial distribution in heavily polluted urban rivers, and also should be taken into consideration for improving the efficacies of ecological evaluation and remediation.

scholarly journals Evaluating ecological risks and tracking potential factors influencing heavy metals in sediments in an urban river

2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dongping Liu ◽  
Jian Wang ◽  
Huibin Yu ◽  
Hongjie Gao ◽  
Weining Xu
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Heavy Metal ◽  
Ecological Risk ◽  
Metal Pollution ◽  
Heavy Metal Pollution ◽  
Risk Index ◽  
Urban River ◽  
Ecological Risks ◽  
Background Values ◽  
Potential Factors

Abstract Background Heavy metal pollution of aquatic systems is a global issue that has received considerable attention. Canonical correlation analysis (CCA), principal component analysis (PCA), and potential ecological risk index (PERI) have been applied to heavy metal data to trace potential factors, identify regional differences, and evaluate ecological risks. Sediment cores of 200 cm in depth were taken using a drilling platform at 10 sampling sites along the Xihe River, an urban river located in western Shenyang City, China. Then they were divided into 10 layers (20 cm each layer). The concentrations of the As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb and Zn were measured for each layer. Eight heavy metals, namely Pb, Zn, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, and Hg, were measured for each layer in this study. Results The average concentrations of the As, Cd, Cu, Hg, and Zn were significantly higher than their background values in soils in the region, and mainly gathered at 0–120 cm in depth in the upstream, 0–60 cm in the midstream, and 0–20 cm downstream. This indicated that these heavy metals were derived from the upstream areas where a large quantity of effluents from the wastewater treatment plants enter the river. Ni, Pb, and Cr were close or slightly higher than their background values. The decreasing order of the average concentration of Cd was upstream > midstream > downstream, so were Cr, Cu, Ni and Zn. The highest concentration of As was midstream, followed by upstream and then downstream, which was different to Cd. The potential factors of heavy metal pollution were Cd, Cu, Hg, Zn, and As, especially Cd and Hg with the high ecological risks. The ecological risk levels of all heavy metals were much higher in the upstream than the midstream and downstream. Conclusions Industrial discharge was the dominant source for eight heavy metals in the surveyed area, and rural domestic sewage has a stronger influence on the Hg pollution than industrial pollutants. These findings indicate that effective management strategies for sewage discharge should be developed to protect the environmental quality of urban rivers.

scholarly journals Assessment of Heavy Metal Pollution Levels in Sediments and of Ecological Risk by Quality Indices, Applying a Case Study: The Lower Danube River, Romania

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 1801
Author(s):  
Valentina Andreea Calmuc ◽  
Madalina Calmuc ◽  
Maxim Arseni ◽  
Catalina Maria Topa ◽  
Mihaela Timofti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Heavy Metal ◽  
Ecological Risk ◽  
Metal Pollution ◽  
Heavy Metal Pollution ◽  
Surface Sediments ◽  
Risk Index ◽  
Potential Ecological Risk ◽  
Danube River ◽  
Pollution Indices

It is a well–known fact that heavy metal pollution in sediments causes serious problems not only in the Danube basin, but also in the large and small adjacent river streams. A suitable method for assessing the level of heavy metals and their toxicity in sediments is the calculation of pollution indices. The present research aims to assess heavy metal pollution in the Lower Danube surface sediments collected along the Danube course (between 180 and 60 km) up to the point where the Danube River flows into the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve (a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization – UNESCO, protected area). In addition, this monitored area is one of the largest European hydrographic basins. Five heavy metals (Cd, Ni, Zn, Pb, Cu) were analyzed in two different seasons, i.e., the autumn of 2018 and the spring of 2019, using the Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP– MS) technique. Our assessment of heavy metal pollution revealed two correlated aspects: 1. a determination of the potential risks of heavy metals in sediments by calculating the Potential Ecological Risk Index (RI), and 2. an evaluation of the influence of anthropogenic activities on the level of heavy metal contamination in the surface sediments, using three specific pollution indices, namely, the Geo–Accumulation Index (Igeo), the Contamination Factor (CF), and the Pollution Load Index (PLI). The results of this pioneering research activity in the region highlighted the presence of moderate metal (Ni and Cd) pollution and a low potential ecological risk for the aquatic environment.

Opportunities for Biotesting of the Water Environment for Heavy Metal Pollution Using a Plant Spirodela polyrhiza (L.) Schleid

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 52-57
Author(s):  
S.I. Alekseeva ◽  
Zh.M. Okhlopkova
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Heavy Metal ◽  
Metal Pollution ◽  
Heavy Metal Pollution ◽  
Growth And Development ◽  
Water Environment ◽  
Biological Testing ◽  
Spirodela Polyrhiza ◽  
Model Object ◽  
Chlorophyll A And B

The methods of biotesting of the aquatic environment based on the representative of the duckweed family (lat. Lemnaceae) greater duckweed (Spirodela polyrhiza (L.) Schleid) were considered. A review is presented on the use of greater duckweed as a model object in biological testing, in partic-ular, when exposed to heavy metals salts. When cultivated Spirodela polyrhiza with the addition of heavy metals salts, a change in the growth and development of plants in the experienced line of plants was revealed, as well as a decrease in the content of chlorophyll a and b.

Lightweight aggregates to reduce heavy metal pollution in green infrastructure for urban stormwater management

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Concepcion Pla ◽  
Javier Valdes-Abellan ◽  
Miguel Angel Pardo ◽  
Maria Jose Moya-Llamas ◽  
David Benavente
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Heavy Metal ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Metal Pollution ◽  
Heavy Metal Pollution ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Stormwater Management ◽  
Lightweight Aggregates ◽  
Urban Stormwater ◽  
Runoff Water

<p>The impervious nature of urban areas is mostly responsible for urban flooding, runoff water pollution and the interception of groundwater recharge. Green infrastructure and sustainable urban drainage systems combine natural and artificial measures to mitigate the abovementioned problems, improving stormwater management and simultaneously increasing the environmental values of urban areas. The actual rate of urban growth in many urban areas requires the enhancement and optimization of stormwater management infrastructures to integrate the territorial development with the natural processes. Regarding the quality of runoff stormwater, heavy metals are critical for their impact on human health and ecological systems, even more if we consider the cumulative effect that they produce on biota. Thus, innovative stormwater management approaches must consider new solutions to deal with heavy metal pollution problems caused by runoff. In this study, we propose the employment of Arlita<sup>®</sup> and Filtralite<sup>®</sup>, two kind of lightweight aggregates obtained from expanded clays, to remove heavy metal concentration from runoff stormwater. Laboratory experiments were developed to evaluate the removal rate of different heavy metals existent in runoff stormwater. The lightweight aggregates acted as filter materials in column experiments to quantify their removal capacity. In addition, batch tests were also developed to evaluate the exhaustive capacity of the materials. Results from the study confirmed the efficiency of the selected lightweight aggregates to reduce the heavy metals concentration by up to 90% in urban stormwater runoff.</p>

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