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Spatial distribution, source identification, and potential risk assessment of toxic contaminants in surface waters from Yulin, China

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Abstract

The Yulin Energy and Chemical Industry Base is widely known for its rich mineral resources and multiple types of fossil-fuel-based chemical industries; nevertheless, information regarding the level of toxic contaminants in the surface waters is lacking in this area. Therefore, this study investigates the distributions, sources, and risks of various toxic contaminants, including heavy metals, organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), from 35 sampling sites in eight rivers. The ΣHCH concentration ranged from 1.28 to 6.64 ng/L with predominant β-HCH, and the ΣDDT concentration was less than 0.35 ng/L. The OCPs were derived from the recent input of lindane, residual technical-grade HCHs, and DDTs. The soil type can affect the environmental fate of DDT, and p,p′-DDE was widespread in the sandy land and loess areas. p,p′-DDD was rarely detected in the Mu Us Sandy Land area. The calculated ratios of isomers indicated that petroleum was the major source of PAHs. OCP and PAH contamination in the surface waters posed potential risks at several sampling sites. Due to the impacts by industrial emissions, agricultural sources, and vehicular traffic, the distribution of contaminant concentrations in the surface waters exhibited a significant spatial relationship with the land use pattern in the study region according to the results of principal component analysis and cluster analysis.

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Funding

This study is supported by the Science and Technology Industrialization Project of Shaanxi Education Department (Grant No. 15JF021), the Project of Science and Technology Benefit Plan (No. 2012GS610203), the Program for Innovative Research Team in Shaanxi (Grant No. 2013KCT-13), and the Program of Yulin University High-Level Talent Research Start-Up Fund.

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Correspondence to Yongjun Liu.

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Highlights

• Pollution levels of surface waters in a mixed-industrial region are presented.

• A discrepancy was observed in the degradation of DDT between sandy land and loess areas.

• The contaminant sources were revealed by the ratios of isomers and PCA approaches.

• OCP and PAH contaminants pose potential risks in several sampling sites.

• The spatial correlation between the land use pattern and surface water pollution was clarified.

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Liu, J., Liu, Y., Zhang, A. et al. Spatial distribution, source identification, and potential risk assessment of toxic contaminants in surface waters from Yulin, China. Environ Monit Assess 191, 293 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-019-7441-0

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