Danube River Basin Waters on Romanian Territory: Chemical Status Assessment Based on Priority Substances Data Analysis

Abstract

Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) (WFD) sets out a series of legal measures at European level against surface waters chemical pollution. The EU-list, annex of the WFD, contains those substances that present a significant risk to human health via aquatic environment, known as priority substances. In the last ten years, the Danube water quality has improved significantly. Instead, heavy metals concentrations in the tributaries waters sometimes were found to be rather highest and the chemical status is not in-line with the WFD requirements. Therefore, the Danube River Basin (DRB) waters quality showed a significant variability in terms of priority substances due to the diverse human activities, especially mining activities. This research paper aims to assess the chemical status of the DRB waters located on Romania territory regarding six heavy metals: Pb, Cd, Ni, Cr, Cu, and Zn by analysing water and sediment samples collected from different areas (south-west and north-west of Romania). Based on the obtained results by evaluating the quality elements, the water chemical status of DRB achieved a good chemical status for 74% of water samples and 55% of sediment samples. Also, the basic statistic and multivariate analysis were used to explore the relationship between the concentration values obtained for priority substances to underlying the water quality assessment.

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

“…Therefore, severe pollution of the Danube River and the Black Sea has been recently reported 55 . The HM contents measured in Danube River sediments were comparable in 2011-2013 for Cu, Zn, Cr, Ni, Cd, and Pb (86, 206, 68, 93, 1.33, and 77 mg/kg, respectively) 56 with those in 2012-2014 (42,106,46, and 38 mg/kg, with Cd and Pb not included in this study) 57 . Climatic records described the year 2012 as the hottest and driest summer in south-eastern Europe 58 .…”

“…Climatic records described the year 2012 as the hottest and driest summer in south-eastern Europe 58 . In 2017, called the "Lucifer" plague year in Europe, showed the most sustained extreme heat event from January to October worldwide 59 , and the contamination levels of the Danube River increased to 1570, 1049, 488, 61, 2.9, and 1315 mg/kg, respectively 57 . Consistent with these reports, the Olt River is not Romania's most polluted water body, but it has contributed significantly to maximizing HM pollution in Danube River sediments 24,26,60,61 .…”

Human Health Effects of Heavy Metal Pollution in the Cross-Border Area of Romania and Serbia: A Review

“…In the sediment samples, cadmium and zinc were found to have concentrations above the maximum standard of quality. By comparing the values presented in Table 3, it was observed that the concentration of heavy metals in the tested surface waters decreased in the following order: Zn > Cu > Ni > Pb > Cd > Cr, while for the sediment samples, the concentration distribution was as follows: Zn > Cu > Pb > Cr > Ni > Cd [29].…”

“…One study regarding the assessment of water quality was performed by Anghel et al [29] using water samples collected in 2017 from the Bosneag river, a direct affluent of Danube, with the confluence point being situated near the tailing ponds in Moldova Veche.…”

Thermal Stability of Inorganic Pigments Synthesized from Galvanic Sludge

“…The industrial developments cause an increasing in the concentrations of heavy metal ions from industrial effluent, such as electroplating sludge [1]. The pollution with heavy metals represents an important global issue because of their extremely toxic effect even at low concentrations and one of the highest environmental risk is the omnipresence of heavy metals due to their toxicity, persistence and lack of biodegradation [2][3][4]. There are various methods for neutralization and recovery of electroplating sludge, namely: methods of incorporation/inertisation of the sludge (also heavy metals) in stable matrices and methods for the extraction of valuable components (metal ions) and their exploitation such as inorganic pigments or raw materials in various industries [5].…”