Pollution, Ecological Risk and Source Identification of Heavy Metals in Sediments from the Huafei River in the Eastern Suburbs of Kaifeng, China

Abstract

Rivers in urban environments are significant components of their ecosystems but remain under threat of pollution from unchecked discharges of industrial sewage and domestic wastewater. Such river pollution, particularly over the longer term involving heavy metals, is an issue of worldwide concern regarding risks to the ecological environment and human health. In this study, we investigate the long-term pollution characteristics of the Huafei River, an important urban river in Kaifeng, China. River sedimentary samples were analyzed, assessing the degree and ecological risk of heavy metal pollution using the geo-accumulation index and potential ecological risk index methods, whilst Pearson’s correlation, principal component and cluster analyses were used to identify the sources of pollution. The results show that heavy metal concentrations are significantly higher than their corresponding fluvo-aquic soil background values in China, and the geo-accumulation indexes indicate that of the eight heavy metals identified, Hg is most prevalent, followed in sequence by Cd > Zn > Cu > Pb > Ni > As > Cr. The potential ecological risk index of the Huafei River is very high, with the potential ecological risk intensity highest in the midstream and downstream sections, where it is recommended that pollution control is carried out, especially concerning Hg and Cd. Long-term sequence analysis indicates that Cu and Pb dropped sharply from 1998 to 2017, but rebounded in 2019, and that Zn shows a continuous decreasing trend. Four main sources for the heavy metal contaminants were identified: Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn and Hg derived mainly from industrial activities, traffic sources and natural sources; Cd originated mainly from industrial and agricultural activities; whilst As was mainly associated with industrial activities. Thus, special attention should be paid to Hg and Cd, and measures must be taken to prevent further anthropogenic influence on heavy metal pollution.

Impacts of Power Transmission and Distribution on Trace Metals Loads in Soils, <i>Telfairia Occidentalis</i> and Related Human Health Problems in South-South, Nigeria

“…The mean CF values of Fe and Pb belong to the belongs to the very high category, respectively [40,41]. The mean high CF value reported for Cd is consistent with findings by Jin et al [95]. Consequently, power transmission and distribution activities may have contaminated the studied soils with these metals, mostly Cd.…”

Ecological Risk Assessment and Source Apportionment of Heavy Metals in the Soil of an Opencast Mine in Xinjiang

“…The contribution rate of principal component 1 to the artificial forest was 46.63%, and the main elements were Cr, Zn, Ni, Cd and Pb related to vehicle activities [ 54 , 55 ], which were identified as traffic sources, while the main element of principal component 2 was Cu. This may be because the water used for artificial forest irrigation is wastewater from the treated mine [ 56 ]. Component 2 is an industrial source.…”

Potential ecological risk from heavy metals in surface sediment of lotic systems in central region Peru

“…In general, Hg is an important component of agrochemicals, pesticides and herbicides (Wang et al, 2023), Cu and Zn mainly come from animal excrement, as they are micronutrients added to animal feed as growth promoters (Yang et al, 2020). Cr and Pb come from the electroplating and transportation industries (Chen et al, 2016;Jin et al, 2022) as a result of wear and tear on vehicle parts, use of lubricants and gasoline, and from automobile manufacturing (as additives for airbag detonators), and as a feed additive (Zhang et al, 2022). Natural sources are another important source of metal contaminants in sediments when the pH is low (Luo et al, 2019).…”