The Ecological Risk Assessment and the Chemical Speciation of Heavy Metals in Ash after the Incineration of Municipal Sewage Sludge

Popular incineration of sewage sludge results in the increase in heavy metals content in ash. The knowledge of the total content of heavy metals in sewage sludge ash does not demonstrate a potential hazard. The toxicity of heavy metals in great measure depends on the form of their occurrence. The pr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sustainability 2020-08, Vol.12 (16), p.6517
Main Authors: Latosińska, Jolanta, Czapik, Przemysław
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ashes
Chemical speciation
Combustion
Contamination
Ecological risk assessment
Environmental assessment
Environmental risk
Heavy metals
Incineration
Municipal wastes
Municipal wastewater
Norms
Risk assessment
Sediment pollution
Sewage disposal
Sewage sludge
Sludge
Soil contamination
Soil environment
Soil pollution
Soil water
Speciation
Sustainability
Toxic hazards
Toxicity
Volatility
Water pollution
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Summary:Popular incineration of sewage sludge results in the increase in heavy metals content in ash. The knowledge of the total content of heavy metals in sewage sludge ash does not demonstrate a potential hazard. The toxicity of heavy metals in great measure depends on the form of their occurrence. The prevailing norms do not require the ecological risk assessment of the environmental burden with heavy metals for the choice of the method of the utilization of sewage sludge ash. The paper presents the research results on the mobility of heavy metals in sewage sludge ash after its incineration. The geo-accumulation index (IGAI), the potential ecological risk index (PERI) and the risk assessment code (RAC) were used for the evaluation of the potential soil contamination with heavy metals. The authors also suggested a new formula, which took into consideration more factors influencing the risk of the contamination of a water-soil environment with heavy metals—the water and soil environment risk index (WSERI). The calculated indices for sewage sludge ash indicate the risk of soil contamination with heavy metals.
ISSN:2071-1050
2071-1050
DOI:10.3390/su12166517