Ecological risk assessment and source identification for heavy metals in surface sediment from the Liaohe River protected area, China

Surface sediment samples collected from 19 sites in the Liaohe River protected area were analysed for heavy metals to evaluate their potential ecological risk. The results demonstrated that the degree of pollution from seven heavy metals decreases in the following sequence: cadmium(Cd)>arsenic(As...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Chemosphere (Oxford) 2017-05, Vol.175, p.473-481
Main Authors: Ke, Xin, Gui, Shaofeng, Huang, Hao, Zhang, Haijun, Wang, Chunyong, Guo, Wei
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Arsenic - analysis
Biological Availability
China
Ecology
Environmental Monitoring - methods
Geologic Sediments - analysis
Heavy metal
Metals, Heavy - analysis
Multivariate Analysis
Potential ecological risk assessments
Risk Assessment
Rivers - chemistry
Sediment
Sources identification
Speciation analysis
Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis
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Summary:Surface sediment samples collected from 19 sites in the Liaohe River protected area were analysed for heavy metals to evaluate their potential ecological risk. The results demonstrated that the degree of pollution from seven heavy metals decreases in the following sequence: cadmium(Cd)>arsenic(As)>copper(Cu)>nickel(Ni)>lead(Pb)>chromium(Cr)>zinc(Zn). The metal speciation analysis indicated that Cd, Pb and Zn were dominated by non-residual fractions and have high mobility and bioavailability, indicating significant anthropogenic sources. Based on the potential ecological risk index (PERI), geo-accumulation index (Igeo) and risk assessment code (RAC), Cd made the most dominant contribution, with a high to very high potential ecological risk being determined in this studied area. Moreover, in reference to the results of multivariate statistical analyses, we deduced that Cd and Zn originated from agriculture sources within the Liaohe River protected area, whereas Cu, Cr and Ni primarily originated from natural sources. •Speciation analysis showed that Cd, Pb and Zn have high bioavailability.•PCA revealed that Cd and Zn were mainly from agriculture sources.•Cd posed higher potential ecological risk in this studied area.
ISSN:0045-6535
1879-1298
DOI:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2017.02.029