Heavy Metals in Sediment from the Urban and Rural Rivers in Harbin City, Northeast China

Song Cui, Fuxiang Zhang, Peng Hu, Rupert Hough, Qiang Fu, Zulin Zhang, Lihui An, Yi-Fan Li, Kunyang Li, Dong Liu and Pengyu Chen
Additional contact information
Song Cui: International Joint Research Center for Persistent Toxic Substances (IJRC-PTS), School of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China
Fuxiang Zhang: International Joint Research Center for Persistent Toxic Substances (IJRC-PTS), School of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China
Peng Hu: State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, China
Rupert Hough: The James Hutton Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen AB15 8QH, UK
Qiang Fu: International Joint Research Center for Persistent Toxic Substances (IJRC-PTS), School of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China
Zulin Zhang: The James Hutton Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen AB15 8QH, UK
Lihui An: State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China
Yi-Fan Li: IJRC-PTS, State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, China
Kunyang Li: International Joint Research Center for Persistent Toxic Substances (IJRC-PTS), School of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China
Dong Liu: International Joint Research Center for Persistent Toxic Substances (IJRC-PTS), School of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China
Pengyu Chen: International Joint Research Center for Persistent Toxic Substances (IJRC-PTS), School of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 22, 1-15

Abstract: The concentrations and ecological risk of six widespread heavy metals (Cu, Cr, Ni, Zn, Cd and Pb) were investigated and evaluated in sediments from both urban and rural rivers in a northeast city of China. The decreasing trend of the average concentration of heavy metals was Zn > Cr > Cu > Pb > Ni > Cd in Majiagou River (urban) and was Zn > Cr > Pb > Cu > Ni > Cd in Yunliang River (rural). The results showed that the concentrations of Cd and Zn were significantly elevated compared to the environmental background value ( p < 0.05). Half of all sampling locations were deemed ‘contaminated’ as defined by the improved Nemerow pollution index ( P N ’ > 1.0). Applying the potential ecological risk index ( RI ) indicated a ‘high ecological risk’ for both rivers, with Cd accounting for more than 80% in both cases. Source apportionment indicated a significant correlation between Cd and Zn in sediments ( R = 0.997, p < 0.01) in Yunliang River, suggesting that agricultural activities could be the major sources. Conversely, industrial production, coal burning, natural sources and traffic emissions are likely to be the main pollution sources for heavy metals in Majiagou River. This study has improved our understanding of how human activities, industrial production, and agricultural production influence heavy metal pollution in urban and rural rivers, and it provides a further weight of evidence for the linkages between different pollutants and resulting levels of heavy metals in riverine sediments.

Keywords: heavy metals; sediment; contamination characteristics; possible source; ecological risk (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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