Occurrence, distribution and ecological risk assessment of heavy metals in surface sediments of Nanfei River, China
by Yufeng Xie; Ya Zhang; Wanjing Wang; Wenjing Li; Huaicheng Guo
International Journal of Environment and Waste Management (IJEWM), Vol. 18, No. 3, 2016

Abstract: In order to grasp the status of contamination of heavy metals pollution in the surface sediment of Nanfei River, the pollution characteristics of eight heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Zn, As, Hg, Ni) were analysed and their potential ecological risks were evaluated. The result showed that, the concentrations of Cd, Cu, Zn were 4.45, 1.23, 3.27 times than the corresponding background values, respectively. The pH value and the concentration of total organic carbon (TOC) have good correlation with the heavy metals as well as the heavy metals have with each other. There are significant correlations for TOC-Cr, TOC-Ni, TOC-Cu, TOC-Hg, Cr-Ni, Cr-Pb, Ni-Cu, Zn-Pb, As-Pb, As-Hg. The pollution degree of the eight heavy metals was: Zn > Hg > Cu > Cd > As > Cr > Pb > Ni, while the order of potential ecological risk of the heavy metals was found to follow the sequence: Cd > Hg > As > Cu > Zn > Pb > Ni > Cr. The spatial distribution feature suggested that the agricultural sector showed relatively low ecological risk and the ecological risk of urban section was higher. This is the first systematic report concerning the content, distribution and potential ecological risk of heavy metals in the surface sediment of Nanfei River.

Online publication date: Wed, 07-Dec-2016

The full text of this article is only available to individual subscribers or to users at subscribing institutions.

 
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.

Pay per view:
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.

Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Environment and Waste Management (IJEWM):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:

    Username:        Password:         

Forgotten your password?


Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.

If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com