Heavy metal pollution in the Baotou section of the Yellow River, China

Authors: Fan, Qingyun; He, Jiang; Xue, Hongxi; Lü, Changwei; Sun, Ying; Shen, Lili; Liang, Ying; Bai, Saruli

Source: Chemical Speciation and Bioavailability, Volume 20, Number 2, June 2008 , pp. 65-76(12)

Publisher: Science Reviews 2000 Ltd

Buy & download fulltext article:

OR

Price: $29.00 plus tax (Refund Policy)

Or sign up for a free trial

Abstract:

Baotou City is a representative heavy industrial city in the drainage basin of the Yellow River. This paper studies the pollution of a contaminated section (Baotou section) of the Yellow River, China, with a known anthropogenic heavy metal input from the industrial discharge. The distribution of heavy metals (Cu, Pb, Zn and Cd) in the overlying water, filtered water (overlying water filtered through a 0.45-μm filter membrane) and sediments was determined in the Baotou section of the Yellow River. The results of this research indicate that heavy metal pollutants transport mostly through the carriers of suspended particulates and sediments in the fluvial environment. Baotou City's industrial discharge draining into the Yellow River from the tributaries (the Kundulun River and the Sidaosha River) increases the concentrations of Cu, Pb, Zn and Cd in the mainstream and influences heavy metals speciation. Speciation analyses show that the Cd is easily enriched in the secondary phase (bioavailable form), followed by Pb. Furthermore, based on the acute water quality criteria (WQC-Acute) and chronic water quality criteria (WQC-Chronic) set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the acute sediment quality criteria (SQC-Acute) and the chronic sediment quality criteria (SQC-Chronic) are calculated respectively using the developed equilibrium partitioning approach (EqP). By comparing heavy metal contents in sediments with SQC-Acute and SQC-Chronic respectively, we note that Pb and Cd have posed a high risk to the quality of water environment and to the aquatic ecosystem health of Baotou section of the Yellow River.

Keywords: HEAVY METALS; SEDIMENT QUALITY CRITERIA; SPECIATION ANALYSIS; THE YELLOW RIVER

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3184/095422908X322824

Publication date: 2008-06-01

More about this publication?
  • Chemical Speciation & Bioavailability covers a rapidly expanding area in environmental science.

    Research on the interactions between the chemical forms and behaviour of toxic compounds and their subsequent biological uptake, metabolism and ecological fate involves many scientific fields. These studies are often published in discipline-specific journals, leading to inadequate review and information scatter. This situation hinders both the development of an international community of experienced colleagues and the open flow of information and discussion. Additionally, the importance of speciation and bioavailability research to the development of pollution law and control technologies is being increasingly appreciated by environmental regulatory agencies throughout the world.

    Related Books:
    Ultramafic Rocks: Their Soils, Vegetation and Fauna

  • Editorial Board
  • Information for Authors
  • Subscribe to this Title
  • ingentaconnect is not responsible for the content or availability of external websites
Related content

Tools

Key

Free Content
Free content
New Content
New content
Open Access Content
Open access content
Subscribed Content
Subscribed content
Free Trial Content
Free trial content

Text size:

A | A | A | A
Share this item with others: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. print icon Print this page