A Comprehensive Exploration on Pollution Characteristics and Ecological Risks of Heavy Metals in Surface Paddy Soils around a Large Copper Smelter, Southeast China

Xiyang Wang, Liang Li, Naijia Guo, Zaijun Xin, Xiaohui Li, Xiaoyan Sun and Ya Li
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Xiyang Wang: Jiangxi Engineering and Technology Research Center of Eco-Remediation of Heavy Metal Pollution, Institute of Microbiology, Jiangxi Academy of Sciences, Nanchang 330096, China
Liang Li: Jiangxi Engineering and Technology Research Center of Eco-Remediation of Heavy Metal Pollution, Institute of Microbiology, Jiangxi Academy of Sciences, Nanchang 330096, China
Naijia Guo: Agricultural Ecology and Resource Protection Agency of Jiangxi Province, Nanchang 330046, China
Zaijun Xin: Jiangxi Engineering and Technology Research Center of Eco-Remediation of Heavy Metal Pollution, Institute of Microbiology, Jiangxi Academy of Sciences, Nanchang 330096, China
Xiaohui Li: Jiangxi Engineering and Technology Research Center of Eco-Remediation of Heavy Metal Pollution, Institute of Microbiology, Jiangxi Academy of Sciences, Nanchang 330096, China
Xiaoyan Sun: Jiangxi Engineering and Technology Research Center of Eco-Remediation of Heavy Metal Pollution, Institute of Microbiology, Jiangxi Academy of Sciences, Nanchang 330096, China
Ya Li: Jiangxi Engineering and Technology Research Center of Eco-Remediation of Heavy Metal Pollution, Institute of Microbiology, Jiangxi Academy of Sciences, Nanchang 330096, China

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 23, 1-11

Abstract: To assess heavy metal pollution and ecological risk, a total of 28 surface paddy soil samples were collected and analyzed around a famous copper smelter in Guixi, China. The results showed that all sites were heavily contaminated by both Cu and Cd, compared with soil background values, whose average concentrations exceeded the standard by 5.7 and 12.3 times, respectively, posing a slight ecological risk related to Cu (potential ecological risk index <40) and an extremely serious ecological risk related to Cd (potential ecological risk index >320). The risks were also demonstrated through the speciation analyses of Cu (CaCl 2 -Cu 2.63%, acid-soluble Cu 8.67%, and residual Cu 74.17%, on average) and Cd (CaCl 2 -Cd 47.30%, acid-soluble Cd 45.02%, and residual Cd 28.87%, on average) in the surface paddy soil, including the use of a CaCl 2 extraction procedure and the BCR (Community Bureau of Reference) sequential extraction scheme. Several soil properties (residual carbon, cation exchange capacity, and soil texture) were significantly correlated with soil Cd but made a small contribution to their variability with a poor linear fit because of external Cd input to the soil, while soil total potassium largely influenced the soil Cu species except for residual Cu. Therefore, an effective Cu pollution regulation strategy through soil potassium control is suggested for this smelter soil.

Keywords: smelting; paddy soil; heavy metals; speciation analysis; soil properties (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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