Characteristics and Assessment of Toxic Metal Contamination in Surface Water and Sediments Near a Uranium Mining Area

Yi, Ling; Gao, Bai; Liu, Haiyan; Zhang, Yanhong; Du, Chaochao; Li, Yanmei

doi:10.3390/ijerph17020548

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Characteristics and Assessment of Toxic Metal Contamination in Surface Water and Sediments Near a Uranium Mining Area

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State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Resources and Environment, College of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering, East China University of Technology, Nanchang 330013, China

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Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(2), 548; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17020548

Received: 8 November 2019 / Revised: 10 January 2020 / Accepted: 13 January 2020 / Published: 15 January 2020

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Occurrence, Fate, Transport and Reactivity of Contaminants of Emerging Concern in Aquatic Ecosystems)

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Abstract

Concentrations of potentially toxic metals including Cd, Cu, Pb, Cr, U, Th in surface water and sediment samples collected from a river were analyzed to assess the contaminations, distribution characteristics, and sources of these metals. The contents of the metals were lower than the standard levels set by World Health Organization (WHO) for drinking water. However, U and Th contents were far beyond the background values of surface water. The concentrations of Cd, Cr, and U in sediments were higher than the background values and the Probable Effect Level (PEL) of sediment quality guidelines (SQGs) which may result in high potential harmful biological effects to aquatic ecosystems. Based on the contamination factor (CF), geo-accumulation index (I_geo), and potential ecological risk index (RI), Cd, Cr, and U were considered to be the metals that mainly contribute to the contamination of sediments. The calculation results also indicated that the sites adjacent to the uranium ore field were highly polluted. Results of cluster analysis, principal component analysis, and correlation analysis revealed that Cr, Pb, U, and Th were highly correlated with each other. These metals mainly originated from both anthropogenic sources and natural processes, especially emissions from uranium mining and quarrying, whereas Cd mostly came from anthropogenic sources (agricultural activities) of the upper reaches of the river. View Full-Text

Keywords: potentially toxic metals; uranium mining; surface water; sediment; contamination indices; source identification

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Yi, L.; Gao, B.; Liu, H.; Zhang, Y.; Du, C.; Li, Y. Characteristics and Assessment of Toxic Metal Contamination in Surface Water and Sediments Near a Uranium Mining Area. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 548. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17020548

AMA Style

Yi L, Gao B, Liu H, Zhang Y, Du C, Li Y. Characteristics and Assessment of Toxic Metal Contamination in Surface Water and Sediments Near a Uranium Mining Area. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2020; 17(2):548. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17020548

Chicago/Turabian Style

Yi, Ling, Bai Gao, Haiyan Liu, Yanhong Zhang, Chaochao Du, and Yanmei Li. 2020. "Characteristics and Assessment of Toxic Metal Contamination in Surface Water and Sediments Near a Uranium Mining Area" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17, no. 2: 548. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17020548

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Characteristics and Assessment of Toxic Metal Contamination in Surface Water and Sediments Near a Uranium Mining Area

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