Aspects on the Accumulation of Trace Metals in Various Environmental Matrices (Water, Soil, Plant and Sediments): Case Study on Catchment Area of the Somes River, Romania

Abstract

A study was carried out to determine the accumulation of trace metals in water, sediments, and soil from several locations in the Transylvania region (Romania), using the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) technique. A significant number of metals (range of several μgL −1 ) were identified, the toxic metal concentrations in mostly of the investigated waters being within the permissible limits. A seasonal variation in the metal content was also observed. Comparison of the metal concentrations to samples of sediment, soil, and vegetation coming from the surrounding areas of the same water reservoir revealed a higher accumulation of rare and toxic metals in sediments than in soil and vegetation.

RBP II (Rapid Bioassessment Protocol II) as a tool to assess the sediment and water quality in a treated textile effluent receiving stream ecosystem.

“…Sediments can function as both sources and sinks of heavy metals as they tend to adsorb and release heavy metals at different environmental conditions. Further, the heavy metals can be distributed to the non-polluted areas by sediment transport (Voica et al, 2017). The results of present study indicate signi cantly high sediment concentrations of Pb, Cd, Cr and Cu in the treated textile e uent receiving study sites compared to the respective water samples during both rainy and dry seasons (Table 1, Table 2).…”

Optimised ICP-MS quantification method for using animal faeces as a measure of protected area ecosystem health

“…Traditional methods of toxicological risk assessment in wildlife however, are often invasive, involving the collection of matrices (blood, hair or tissue) during routine management procedures or samples (kidney, liver, oesophageal tissue) from carcasses following mass mortality events [ [13] , [14] – 15 ]. Further, studies generally focus on a single pollution event or animal species [ [16] , [17] – 18 ], a specific matrix [ 19 , 20 ], multiple environmental matrices [21] or various biological matrices from a particular species [22] . Only a few studies have examined trace element concentrations in environmental matrices and animal species occupying specific areas [ 23 , 24 ].…”

“…Validation results reflect acceptable precision for all elements except Al (75%) in tomato leaf CRM. In some cases, aluminium bound to silicate minerals within plant material cannot be efficiently digested by HNO 3 / HCl acid digestion, and in this regard the addition of hydrofluoric acid (HF) may facilitate a more complete extraction in future analyses [ 51 , 21 ]. The level of confidence in method extraction and quantification applied to the different matrices of interest is confirmed by CRM analytical results.…”

Climate change extreme and seasonal toxic metal occurrence in Romanian freshwaters in the last two decades—case study and critical review

“…In south-eastern Romania (near the Black Sea, Tasaul Lake), sediments were investigated for HMs from 2011 to 2013, showing values of 34, 133, 57, 103, 0.14, 17, and 83 mg/kg for Pb, Zn, Ni, Cr, Hg, As, and Cu, respectively 48 . In central Transylvania, the Gilău dam on the Someș River was reported during 2008-2011 to be sediment enriched with Pb, Cd, Zn, Cr, Hg, As, and Cu (40, 2.97, 193, 192, 0.28, 172, and 85 mg/kg, respectively) 54 . In river sediment from Baiaga stream (also Transylvania) located near two sterile mining dumps in Hunedoara County, extensive contents of Cu, Cd, Pb, Cr, Ni, As, and Hg (298, 106, 467, 274, 386, 1197, and 1.21 mg/kg, respectively) 36 were noted in April 2014, the year characterized by the warmest yearly average temperature in Europe.…”