Dredged River Sediments: Potential Chemical Time Bombs? a Case Study

Cappuyns, Valérie; Swennen, Rudy; Devivier, Anne

doi:10.1007/s11270-005-9012-y

Cited by 56 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Dredging activities, storm events, or bioturbation can cause resuspension of anoxic metal contaminated sediments into oxic surface waters. This can result in a very fast increase in metal availability due to metal sulfide oxidation (Cappuyns et al 2006;Hedge et al 2009;Saulnier and Mucci 2000).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of waste water treatment on river metal concentrations: removal or enrichment?

et al. 2010

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Purpose Discharge of untreated domestic and industrial waste in many European rivers resulted in low oxygen concentrations and contamination with trace metals, often concentrated in sediments. Under these anoxic conditions, the formation of insoluble metal sulfides is known to reduce metal availability. Nowadays, implementation of waste water treatment plants results in increasing surface water oxygen concentrations. Under these conditions, sediments can be turned from a trace metal sink into a trace metal source. Materials and methodsIn an ex situ experiment with metal contaminated sediment, we investigated the effect of surface water aeration on sediment metal sulfide (acid volatile sulfides (AVS)) concentrations and sediment metal release to the surface water. These results were compared with long-term field data, where surface water oxygen and metal concentrations, before and after the implementation of a waste water treatment plant, were compared.Results and discussion Aeration of surface water in the experimental setup resulted in a decrease of sediment AVS concentrations due to sulfide oxidation. Metals, known to precipitate with these sulfides, became more mobile and increasing dissolved metal (arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu)) concentrations in the surface water were observed. Contrary to As, Cd, or Cu, manganese (Mn) surface water concentrations decreased in the aerated treatment. Mn ions will precipitate and accumulate in the sediment as Mn oxides under the oxic conditions. Field data, however, demonstrated a decrease of all total metal surface water concentrations with increasing oxygen concentrations following the implementation of the waste water treatment plant. Conclusions The gradual decrease in surface water metal concentrations in the river before the treatment started and the removal of metals in the waste water treatment process could not be countered by an increase in metal flux from the sediment as observed in the experiment.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of waste water treatment on river metal concentrations: removal or enrichment?

et al. 2010

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“…This could be caused by exposure to oxygen, either by dredging operations or by drying effects (condition caused by a decrease in the water level). It could impact directly on the environment because of the sediment acidification and the heavy metal release into the water column while their bioavailability seems to be incremented (Förstner 2004;Seidel et al 2006a, b;Cappuyns et al 2006;Di Nanno et al 2007;Teuchies et al 2011;Porzionato et al 2014).…”

Section: Responsible Editor: Robert Duranmentioning

confidence: 99%

Metal bioleaching from anaerobic sediments from Reconquista River basin (Argentina) as a potential remediation strategy

Porzionato

Tufo

Candal

et al. 2016

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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Anaerobic sediments of urban watercourses are subjected to industrial pollution and frequently tend to accumulate heavy metals. The biocatalyzed oxidation and reduction of sulphur compounds that occur within the sediment are key reactions that determine mobility of metals such as that occurred in mine acidic drainage reactions. The aim of this work was to study the application of these processes using heap leaching technology for the remediation of anaerobic contaminated sediments from Reconquista River basin. The bioleaching potentiality for remediation was demonstrated through batch tests in shake flasks with different pulp densities of anaerobic sediment containing 338 mg kg of Zn and 117 mg kg of Cu. Subsequently, bioleaching heap systems were compiled into columns of 12-cm height and 6-cm diameter, fitted with perlite to improve drainage. In order to assess the effect of elementary sulphur over the mobility of metals from the bioheap to the aqueous solution, increasing concentrations of elementary sulphur (1, 2, 5 % w/w) were added. After 3 months of acidification generated by periodic watering, the extraction of 70 % of the initial Zn and 43 % of the initial Cu was achieved. Polluted sediments from waterways as Reconquista River should not be indiscriminately manipulated if acid drainage is possible. Remediation by a simple and economically viable strategy like heap leaching is feasible.

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“…To improve this knowledge, changes in metal geochemical mobility can be measured in resuspension assays, which simulate the dredging effects using different time intervals (Morse 1994;Van den Berg et al 2001;Caetano et al 2003;Cappuyns et al 2006;Cantwell et al 2008;Machado et al 2011;Acquavita et al 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in Cd and Zn bioavailability upon an experimental resuspension of highly contaminated coastal sediments from a tropical estuary

Monte

Rodrigues

Cordeiro

et al. 2015

Sustain. Water Resour. Manag.

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Bioavailability evaluations can be an important tool to determine the quality of dredging sediments. Sequential extractions are commonly used to assess the different chemical forms of trace metals in coastal sediments; however, sometimes they are expensive and timeconsuming. Additionally, these analyses do not represent possible changes due to resuspension during and after dredging activity. Newer, easier options to evaluate bioavailability are necessary to understand and preview bioavailability changes resulting from trace metals in dredging and disposal areas. This study aims to evaluate changes in Cd and Zn bioavailability due to sediment resuspension in a highly contaminated area in Sepetiba Bay, Brazil. Twelve surface sediment samples from this location were submitted to a resuspension experiment during two different time intervals (1 and 24 h). The extraction of potentially bioavailable (1 mol L -1 HCl-extractable) fractions and strongly bound (concentrated HNO 3 -extractable) fractions were sequentially carried out. More than 50 % of the concentrations were in potentially bioavailable fractions. Bioavailability change indexes were proposed; these were estimated as relative changes in bioavailability percentage after resuspension. However, two of these stations presented increases in the Cd and Zn HCl-extractable fractions after sediment resuspension above effects range low and effects range medium National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration which are the same limits adopted for Brazilian environmental jurisdiction. Positive correlation of Zn and Cd with TOC in strongly bound fractions evidenced the importance of organic matter binding to preserve metals in this fraction. Fe and Mn partitioning was a major geochemical control on bioavailability of Cd and Zn upon short-time resuspension periods.

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Dredged River Sediments: Potential Chemical Time Bombs? a Case Study

Cited by 56 publications

References 21 publications

The effect of waste water treatment on river metal concentrations: removal or enrichment?

The effect of waste water treatment on river metal concentrations: removal or enrichment?

Metal bioleaching from anaerobic sediments from Reconquista River basin (Argentina) as a potential remediation strategy

Changes in Cd and Zn bioavailability upon an experimental resuspension of highly contaminated coastal sediments from a tropical estuary

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