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Large-scale monitoring and assessment of metal contamination in surface water of the Selenga River Basin (2007–2009)

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Abstract

An extensive and year-round survey was conducted to assess metal pollution in vast watershed areas of the Selenga River Basin (2007–2009), which provided baseline heavy metal database for the future management. Sources and environmental hazard and risk indices associated with metal pollution were evidenced across the countries of Mongolia and Russia (Buryatia Republic). In general, the concentrations of heavy metals in river water of Mongolia were greater than those of Russia, expect for the upstream of the Dzhida River in Russia. The spatial distribution generally indicated that metal pollution in the Selenga River was mainly associated with the activities in the Mongolian upstream regions. Similar pollution sources of metals between river water and wastewater associated with surrounding activities were found across the industrial and mining areas. Compositional patterns of metals suggested their sources were independent of each other, with hot spots in certain sites. Our measurements indicated that about 63 % of the locations surveyed (48 of 76) exceeded the critical heavy metal pollution index of 100, identifying possible harmful effects on aquatic ecosystems through metal pollution. Zinc was found to be the chemical of priority concern, as more than half of the locations exceeded the corresponding water quality guideline. Other metals including Mn, Fe, Cr, Cu, and As might be problematic in the Selenga River Basin considering the occurrence and their concentrations. Results of our extensive survey during the period of 3 years indicated that urgent action would be necessary in timely manner to improve water quality and mitigate the impact of heavy metals on aquatic environment of the Selenga River Basin.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the participants in this project who provided the efforts and the data during the 3 years of survey. The research was made under the United Nations Environment Program Network of Institutions for Sustainable Development (UNEP NISD) Partnership Project on Integrated Water Management of the Selenga River Basin. This work was also supported by the project entitled “Development of Technology for CO2 Marine Geological Storage” funded by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries of Korea. The authors would like to thank anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Engineering and Energy, Myongji University, 116 Myongjiro, Yongin, 449-728, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea

    Bulat Nadmitov & Chang-Hee Lee

  2. School of Earth and Environmental Sciences & Research Institute of Oceanography, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Seongjin Hong & Jong Seong Khim

  3. Global Strategy Center, Korea Environment Institute (KEI), Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Sang In Kang & Jang Min Chu

  4. Laboratory of Nature Management Economics, Baikal Institute of Nature Management, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Science (BINM, SB RAS), Ulan-Ude, Republic of Buryatia, Russia

    Bair Gomboev

  5. Division of Water Resources and its Utilization, Institute of Geoecology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences (IGMAS), Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

    Lunten Janchivdorj

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  1. Bulat Nadmitov
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  2. Seongjin Hong
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  3. Sang In Kang
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  4. Jang Min Chu
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  5. Bair Gomboev
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  6. Lunten Janchivdorj
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  7. Chang-Hee Lee
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  8. Jong Seong Khim
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Correspondence to Chang-Hee Lee or Jong Seong Khim.

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Nadmitov, B., Hong, S., In Kang, S. et al. Large-scale monitoring and assessment of metal contamination in surface water of the Selenga River Basin (2007–2009). Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 2856–2867 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3564-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3564-6

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