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Heavy Metal Pollution and Ecological Risk Assessment

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Pollution Prevention, Mitigation and Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (7 November 2023) | Viewed by 5139

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Omar Ali Al-Khashman

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Guest Editor

Environmental Engineering Department, Al-Hussein Bin Talal University, P.O. Box (20), Ma'an 71111, Jordan
Interests: heavy metal pollution; environmental risk assessment; environmental impact assessment; soil and air contamination

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are inviting submissions to a new Special Issue titled "Heavy Metal Pollution and Ecological Risk Assessment".

With the development of society and urbanization, heavy metal pollution has become one of the most important threats to human health, to animals, and to the environment. The toxicity of metals and fate of contamination are very important issues for determining the behavior and/or the impact of environmental pollution on aquatic organisms and organs. The aim of this Special Issue is to share important studies on toxic elements and their effect on human health and ecological systems and link these to sustainability development.

The journal is hereby inviting submissions related to the questions highlighted above. In particular, we welcome submissions on the following topics:

Ecological risk assessment;
Potential toxic pollution;
Health risk assessment of soil, sediment, water, and air samples;
Environmental risk assessment;
Environmental impact assessment;
Energy and environment;
Greenhouse gases and the environment;
Toxicity of metal on the environment;
Hazard materials in the environment;
Climate change and environmental pollution.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Omar Ali Al-Khashman
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

toxic elements
Pollution load Index (PI)
heavy metals
Ecological Risk Index (ERI)
human activities
human health risk assessment

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 1992 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Assessment of the Heavy Metal Contamination, Risk, and Source Identification in the Sediments from the Liangtan River, China

by Teng-Fei Ma, Jin Wu, Yi-Chang Yu, Ting-Ting Chen, Yuan Yao, Wei-Ling Liao, Li Feng and Jiang Pan

Sustainability 2023, 15(23), 16228; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152316228 - 23 Nov 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 850

Abstract

The contents of six heavy metals (HMs: Cr, Cu, As, Pb, Cd, and Zn) in sediments from the upper reaches of Liangtan River (LTR) were determined. The geo-accumulation index (Igeo), pollution load index (PLI), and potential ecological risk index (RI) were employed to assess the HM contamination in the sediments. Pearson’s correlation coefficient analysis (PCC), principal component analysis (PCA), and cluster analysis (CA) were used to infer the sources of HMs. The average concentrations of Cr, Cu, As, Pb, Cd, and Zn were 44.63 ± 25.36, 31.40 ± 22.56, 4.66 ± 2.07, 29.20 ± 27.73, 0.25 ± 0.06, and 68.87 ± 104.62 μg/g, respectively. The Igeo indicated that the Cd contamination level was unpolluted to moderately polluted. The mean PLI was 0.97 ± 0.53, suggesting that the sediments were unpolluted, but close to moderately contaminated. The RI values indicated that the potential environmental risk of HMs in the sediments of the LTR was low. The results of PCC, PCA, and CA suggested that the Cr, Cu, As, and Zn in the sediment may mainly originate from natural processes; Pb mainly comes from human industrial and agricultural production activities as well as natural processes; and the main source of Cd may be the production activities of the surrounding chemical enterprises and chemical fertilizer application in farmland. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heavy Metal Pollution and Ecological Risk Assessment)

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20 pages, 3226 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fuzzy-Based Human Health Risk Assessment for Shallow Groundwater Well Users in Arid Regions

by Hussein Thabit, Husnain Haider, Abdul Razzaq Ghumman, Wael Alattyih, Abdullah Alodah, Guangji Hu and Md. Shafiquzzaman

Sustainability 2023, 15(22), 15792; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152215792 - 9 Nov 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 967

Abstract

The conventional point-estimate human health risk assessment (HHRA) primarily uses average concentrations of a limited number of samples due to the high monitoring costs of heavy metals in groundwater. The results can be erroneous when concentrations significantly deviate from the average across the collected samples in an investigation region. The present research developed a hierarchical fuzzy-based HHRA (F-HHRA) framework to handle variations in limited data sets and subjectively established a broader range of risks for various exposure groups. Groundwater samples from 80 to 120 m deep in shallow wells were collected from agricultural farms along Wadi Rumah in the Qassim Region of Saudi Arabia. Laboratory testing found total dissolved solids much higher than the promulgated drinking water quality standards. As the aftertaste issue eliminated the raw water potability, the study considered dermal exposure for HHRA. The collected samples were tested for thirteen potential heavy metals (HMs), including barium (Ba), boron (B), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), lead (Pb), lithium (Li), manganese (Mn), silver (Ag), strontium (Sr), thallium (TI), and zinc (Zn). Cu, Fe, Pb, Ag, and TI were lower than the detectable limit of the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry device. Concentrations of the remaining HMs in wastewater outfalls that were much less than the groundwater eradicated the impact of anthropogenic activities and affirmed natural contamination. Apart from 10% of the samples for Mn and 90% of the samples for Sr, all the other HMs remained within the desired maximum allowable concentrations. Point-estimate and fuzzy-based approaches yielded ‘low’ dermal non-cancer risk and cancer risk for all groups other than adults, where dermal cancer risk of Cr remained in the ‘acceptable’ (1 × 10⁻⁶ and 1 × 10⁻⁵) risk zone. Although dermal risk does not require controls, scenario analysis established the rationality of F-HHRA for more contaminated samples. The proposed hierarchical F-HHRA framework will facilitate the decision-makers in concerned agencies to plan risk mitigation strategies (household level and decentralized systems) for shallow well consumers in Saudi Arabia and other arid regions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heavy Metal Pollution and Ecological Risk Assessment)

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17 pages, 1962 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Ecological Risk Evaluation of Heavy Metals in Soils near a Water Dam in Baljurashi, KSA, and Their Accumulation in Dodonaea viscosa

by Sami Asir Al-Robai

Sustainability 2023, 15(21), 15646; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152115646 - 6 Nov 2023

Viewed by 981

Abstract

Soil’s contamination with heavy metals is a serious issue, and assessing their levels, regulating their sources, and finding cost-effective technology to limit their toxic effect and soil cleanup are of high priority. The focus of this study was to find out the extent of priority hazard heavy metal contamination in soils close to the Al-Janabeen water reservoir dam in Baljurashi, KSA, and the extent of their accumulation in the Dodonaea viscosa Tacq plant. Soil and plant samples were analyzed for heavy metal concentration using inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy (ICPS). Quantitative single and integrated contamination indices were used to characterize and evaluate the degree of heavy metal contamination in soils. The biological concentration factor (BCF) and the translocation factor (TF) were utilized to determine the extent of transfer and accumulation of heavy metals in the D. viscosa plant. Soil analysis showed the presence of Mn, Cu, Zn, Co, Cr, and Pb among the prioritized heavy metals with Cu, Zn, and Pb values being higher than those in natural background levels. The mean concentration order was Fe > Mn > Zn > Cu > Pb > Cr > Ni > Cr > Co. The single contamination indices’ quantification indicated marked contamination due to Mn, Zn, Cu, Co, Cr, and Pb elements. While integrated contamination factors’ computation showed low ecological risk due to accumulative metals of concern, Nemerow’s index (NI) showed that Cu, Zn, and Pb were the three most abundant pollutants in the examined soils. Analysis of plant parts showed the presence of Mn, Cu, Ni, Zn, Co, Cr, Cd, and Pb at varying quantities in various plant sections. Both BCF and TF factors were less than one, indicating that the D. viscosa plant was limited in its ability to phytoextract and accumulate the metals from the soil. This study suggests more research to locate suitable native plants for phytoremediation and soil cleaning is required in addition to the appropriate planning and management of landfills in order to ensure agricultural sustainability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heavy Metal Pollution and Ecological Risk Assessment)

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19 pages, 1310 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Heavy Metal Contamination and Potential Ecological Risk Assessment in Sediments of Lake Bafa (Turkey)

by Aykut Yozukmaz and Murat Yabanlı

Sustainability 2023, 15(13), 9969; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15139969 - 22 Jun 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1457 | Correction

Abstract

This study examined the spatio-temporality of heavy metal concentrations (Al, Cd, Co, Cr, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn) in the sediments of Lake Bafa, one of the most important wetlands of Turkey’s Aegean region. The study evaluated sediment quality according to threshold effect concentration (TEC) and probable effect concentration (PEC) values based on sediment quality guidelines (SQG), and provided a potential ecological risk assessment (PERI) along with indices such as geoaccumulation index (NI_geo), enrichment factor (EF), contamination factor (CF), and pollution load index (PLI). For this purpose, surface sediment from 10 different points and core samples from three different points were seasonally collected and the concentrations of nine heavy metals were determined by ICP-MS. The findings indicated the following accumulation order of heavy metals in the sediment: Fe > Al > Mn > Ni > Cr > Zn > Pb > Co > Cd, with concentrations of Al, Mn, and Ni being high in the surface sediment samples. According to the NI_geo, surface sediment and core samples were very slightly polluted with Cr, Mn, and Co at most stations, while five stations were slightly polluted with Cd. Regarding EF, the lake was at risk in terms of Al and Pb accumulation. The CF results indicated that the lake was under pressure in terms of heavy metal pollution. The PLI results indicated a significant pollution hazard at all stations, while the PERI analysis indicated moderate risk of heavy metal pollution at some stations. As one of the most comprehensive studies applying such indices to Lake Bafa, the results are very significant in terms of evaluating the lake’s ecological sustainability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heavy Metal Pollution and Ecological Risk Assessment)

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