Introduction. Urban runoff sediments contain heavy metals that generate risk to the environment. Several risk assessment indexes for heavy metals have been developed, which show the level of contamination of particles in the environment and their origin. Besides, sediment risk is also associated with the particle size distribution and hydrometeorological characteristics. Objective. This work seeks to evaluate the risk of contamination from runoff sediments collected in an experimental catchment, related to their size distribution and hydrological characteristics of the area of influence. Materials and methods. The field and laboratory experiments were carried out on the constructed-wetland/ storage-tank structure from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá. The hydrological data were obtained from a nearby El Paraíso rain gauge station. The geoaccumulation (Igeo), pollution index (PI), and enrichment factor (EF) rates were calculated. Furthermore, Principal Component Analysis was used in order to determine the relationships between the risk, hydrological and granulometric variables. Results. There is a low/medium risk for Cu and Cr, in contrast to the high risk for Pb and Zn. According to multivariate statistical analysis, there is a relationship between risk indexes and average particle diameters (D50): these indexes increase for fine particles and periods of high rainfall intensity. Conclusions. The hydrological variables are important to determine the risks of urban runoff sediments. In this study, we found that the variable of dry weather is related to the values of geo-accumulation indexes and contamination. The findings of this work reinforce the possibility of developing early warning systems for sediment risks using key hydrological and sedimentological variables.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.