Partition of heavy metals in a tropical river system impacted by municipal waste

• Published in: Environmental monitoring and assessment 2013-02, Vol.185 (2), p.1907-1925
• Main Authors: Duc, Trinh Anh, Loi, Vu Duc, Thao, Ta Thi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alkalinity; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Applied ecology; Applied sciences; Aquatic environment; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Binding sites; Biochemical oxygen demand; Biological and medical sciences; Carbon; Cations; Chemical oxygen demand; Chemistry; Climatic conditions; Continental surface waters; Dissolved organic matter; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecology; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Management; Environmental Monitoring; Exact sciences and technology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Heavy metals; Household wastes; Hydrologic regime; Hydrology; Industry; Laboratories; Metals, Heavy - analysis; Monitoring/Environmental Analysis; Municipal solid waste; Municipal wastes; Natural water pollution; Nitrates; Organic carbon; Phosphorus; Pollution; Polyethylene; Redox potential; Rivers; Rivers - chemistry; Sediments; Statistical analysis; Studies; Urban and domestic wastes; Urbanization; Vietnam; Waste Water - analysis; Waste Water - chemistry; Wastes; Wastewater discharges; Water; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis; Water pollution; Water Pollution, Chemical - statistics & numerical data; Water quality; Water treatment and pollution
• ISSN: 0167-6369; 1573-2959
• DOI: 10.1007/s10661-012-2676-z

A research program was established to identify the governing factors for the partition coefficient ( K D ) of heavy metals between suspended particulate and dissolved phases in the Day River system a tropical, highly alluvial aquatic system, in Vietnam. The targeted river system, draining an urbanized–industrialized catchment where discharged wastewater is mostly untreated, could be separated into the least impacted, pristine area, and the most impacted, polluted area. Organic matter degradation was shown to govern the variation of parameters like total organic carbon, biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, nutrients, conductivity, or redox potential. Heavy metals in both dissolved and particulate phases were enriched in severely polluted area because of wastewater inflow that contains concentrated metals and intensification of metal influx from sediment. Results show log K D in the order Mn