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Pollution risk assessment of heavy metals in the sediments of upstream Hanjiang River, China

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Abstract

In China, the upstream Hangjing River (HJR) is an important surface water source for the South-to-North Water Transfer Project (SNWTP) because it has abundant water and better quality, which plays a crucial part in national drinking water safety and ecological sustainable development in China. This work was aimed at comprehensively studying the pollution status of heavy metals in sediments upstream of the HJR and apportioning sources. A total of 33 superficial sediment samples were collected from the main upstream of the HJR, which is located in Shaanxi and Hubei Provinces in China. The total concentrations of Zn, Cr, Ni, Cu, Cd, Pb, and As were analysed by using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). A standardized method was used to establish the environmental geochemical baseline concentrations (EGBCs) of the selected HMs as an alternative for local geochemical background values (LGBVs) to use for HM pollution assessment of sediment. The pollution status and potential ecological risk were assessed with the geochemical baseline factor pollution index (Ki), potential ecological risk index (RI), and sediment quality baseline evaluation (SQBEs). The source apportionment of heavy metals was performed by correlation analysis and principal component analysis (PCA). This study showed that the EGBCs of Zn, Cr, Ni, Cu, Cd, Pb, and As were 63.81 mg/kg, 23.47 mg/kg, 46.52 mg/kg, 35.26 mg/kg, 0.26 mg/kg, 6.97 mg/kg, and 6.76 mg/kg, respectively. The results indicated that Cd was the most common heavy metal pollutant. Mineral mining and smelting activities were the main sources of heavy metals in the sediments of the upstream HJR. Special attention should be paid to Cd, while Ni pollution cannot be ignored, especially in biotoxic effects. The high total Cd content affected individual and overall ecological risk indicators, indicating that Cd could represent a considerable ecological risk for upstream HJR.

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Funding

This study was funded by the Shaanxi Provincial Department of Science and Technology (2019JS012,2019JM545),and the Scientific Research Fundation of the Education Department of Shaanxi Province(20JY008), the Project of Qinba Mountains of Bio-Resource Collaborative Innovation Center of Southern Shaanxi province (QBXT-Z(P)-18–2) .

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemistry and Environmental Science, Shaanxi University of Technology, Hanzhong, 723001, Shaanxi, China

    Fengmin Song, Hong-Guang Ge, Zhifeng Liu, Juan Si & Bo Tang

  2. Shaanxi Province Key Laboratory of Catalytic Foundation and Application, Hanzhong, 72 001, Shaanxi, China

    Fengmin Song, Hong-Guang Ge, Zhifeng Liu, Juan Si & Bo Tang

  3. Qinba Mountains of Bio-Resource Collaborative Innovation Center of Southern Shaanxi Province, Hanzhong, 723001, Shaanxi, China

    Fengmin Song, Hong-Guang Ge, Zhifeng Liu, Juan Si & Bo Tang

  4. School of Water and Environment, Chang’an University, No. 126 Yanta Road, Xi’an, 5 710054, Shaanxi, China

    Hangang Zhao

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  1. Fengmin Song
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Correspondence to Fengmin Song.

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Conflict of interest

Fengmin-song declares that she has no conflict of interest with the Shaanxi Provincial Department of Science and Technology and the Collaborative Innovation Centre of Shaanxi in China.

Hanghang Zhao declares that he has no conflict of interest with the Shaanxi Provincial Department of Science and Technology and the Collaborative Innovation Centre of Shaanxi in China.

Zhifeng Liu declares that he has no conflict of interest with the Shaanxi Provincial Department of Science and Technology and the Collaborative Innovation Centre of Shaanxi in China.

Juan Si declares that he has no conflict of interes with the Shaanxi Provincial Department of Science and Technology and the Collaborative Innovation Centre of Shaanxi in China.

Bo Tang declares that she has no conflict of interest with the Shaanxi Provincial Department of Science and Technology and the Collaborative Innovation Centre of Shaanxi in China.

Zuoping Zhao declares that he has no conflict of interes with the Shaanxi Provincial Department of Science and Technology and the Collaborative Innovation Centre of Shaanxi in China.

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Communicated By: H. Babaie

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Song, F., Ge, HG., Zhao, H. et al. Pollution risk assessment of heavy metals in the sediments of upstream Hanjiang River, China. Earth Sci Inform 14, 655–668 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12145-020-00552-8

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