Abstract
The sources, distribution and mobility of heavy metals in Zhuzhou City, Hunan Province, China were systematically studied based on environmental monitoring data and random sampling from fields and markets. The significant positive correlations between some pairs of heavy metals (total Cd–Hg, total Cu–Pb) within the Zhuzhou section of the Xiang River may indicate that they are coming from the same pollution sources with similar pollution channels and removal patterns in the water bodies. Heavy metals from wastewater partly settled in the sediment after entering the Xiang River, which caused an inconsistent change in heavy metal concentrations over time in the middle and lower parts of the Xiang River. There was no significant difference in total Pb and Zn in topsoil between years in the period 1990–1997, which showed the balance between input and output. Heavy metals accumulated mainly in the topsoil with little downward movement. Heavy metals in the vegetables and rice were higher than the edible standard and background value to some degree with minor exceptions. The maximum heavy metal level observed divided by the acceptable level was in the order of Cd > Pb > Cu > Zn. Significant positive correlations were only found between cabbage uptake and total soil content for Hg, Pb and Cd, with no significant correlationfor the other elements. The plant uptake of a heavy metal was somewhat influenced by the co-existence of other elements.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alloway, B. J. (ed.): 1995, Heavy Metals in Soils, Blackie Academic & Professional Publishers, London, 368 pp.
Amundsen, C. E., Lombnaes, P. and Vigerust, E.: 1995, Heavy Metals in Soil, SFT Report 18/95, Department of Environmental Protection, Oslo, Norway (in Norwegian).
ANZECC/NHMRC: 1992, Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for the Assessment and Management of Contaminated Sites, Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council and National Health and Medical Research Council, Canberra, Australia.
Banuelos, G. S. and Ajwa, H. A.: 1999, Trace elements in soils and plants: An overview, J. Environ. Sci. Health A 34(4), 951-974.
Camobreco, V. J., Richards, B. K., Steenhuis, T. S., Peverly, J. H. and McBride, M. B.: 1996, Movement of heavy metals through undisturbed and homogenized soil columns, Soil Sci. 161, 740-750.
Chen, H. M., Zheng, C. R., Cong, T. and Yongguan, Z.: 1999, Heavy metal pollution in soils in China: Status and countermeasures, Ambio 28, 130-134.
Chen, T. B., Wong, J. W. C., Zhou, H. Y. and Wong, M. H.: 1997, Assessment of trace metal distribution and contamination in surface soils of Hong Kong, Environ. Pollut. 96, 61-68.
Chlopecka, A., Bacon, J. R., Wilson, M. J. and Kay, J.: 1996, Forms of cadmium, lead and zinc in contaminated soils from Southwest Poland, J. Environ. Qual. 25, 69-79.
Chlopecka, A. and Adriano, D. C.: 1997, Influence of zeolite, apatite and Fe-oxide on Cd and Pb uptake by crops, Sci. Total Environ. 207, 195-206.
Colbourn, P. and Thornton, I.: 1978, Lead pollution in agricultural soils, J. Soil Sci. 29, 513-526.
Davies, B. E.: 1990, Lead, in B. J. Alloway (ed.), Heavy Metals in Soils, Blackie and Son, Ltd., New York, pp. 180-183.
Grant, C. A., Buckley, W. T., Bailey, L. D. and Selles, F.: 1998, Cadmium accumulation in crops, Can. J. Plant Sci. 78, 1-17.
Heaven, S., Ilyushchenko, M. A., Kamberov, I. M., Politikov, M. I., Tanton, T. W., Ullrich, S. M. and Yanin, E. P.: 2000, Mercury in the River Nura and its floodplain, Central Kazakhstan: II. Floodplain soils and riverbank silt deposits, Sci. Total Environ. 260, 45-55.
Ikonnikov, V.: 1993, Pollution of sediments in the Lake Ladoga catchment-area and the Gulf of Finland - Influencing factors and processes, Land Degradation and Rehabilitation 4, 297-306.
Jinadasa, K. B. P. N., Milham, P. J., Hawkins, C. A., Cornish, P. S., Willams, P. A., Kaldor, C. J. and Conroy, J. P.: 1997, Survey of cadmium levels in vegetables and soils of greater Sydney, Australia, J. Environ. Qual. 26, 924-933.
Kabata-Pendias, A.: 1993, Behavioural properties of trace metals in soils, Appl. Geochem. Suppl. Issue 2, 3-9.
Kashem, M. A. and Singh, B. R.: 1999, Heavy metal contamination of soil and vegetation in the vicinity of industries in Bangladesh, Water, Air, and Soil Pollut. 115, 347-361.
Klavins, M., Briede, A., Rodinov, V., Kokorite, I., Parele, E. and Klavina, I.: 2000, Heavy metals in rivers of Latvia, Sci. Total Environ. 262,175-183.
Knox, A. S., Gamerdinger, A. P., Adriano, D. C., Kolka, R. K. and Kaplan, D. I.: 1999, Sources and practices contributing to soil contamination. Bioremediation of contaminated soils,Agronomy Monograph 37.
Kotas, J. and Stasicka, Z.: 2000, Chromium occurrence in the environment and methods of its speciation, Environ. Pollut. 107, 263-283.
Leonard, T. L., Taylor, G. E. J., Gustin, M. S. and Fernandez, G. C. J.: 1998, Mercury and plants in contaminated soils: 1. Uptake, partitioning, and emission to the atmosphere, Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 17, 2063-2071.
McLaughlin, M. J. and Singh, B. R. (eds): 1999, Cadmium in Soils and Plants, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, Vol. 85, 271 pp.
McLaughlin, M. J., Parker, D. R. and Clarke, J. M.: 1999, Metals and micronutrients - Food safety issues, Field Crops Res. 60, 143-163.
Merrington, G. and Alloway, B. J.: 1994, The flux of Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn in mining polluted soils, Water, Air, and Soil Pollut. 73, 333-344.
Microcal Software, Inc.: 1997, Origin, Data Analysis and Technical Graphics, Release 5.0, Microcal Software, Inc., Northampton, MA.
Microsoft Excel, Inc. Microsoft Excel 2000, 1985-1999 Microsoft Corporation. Microsoft Excel, Inc.
Muller, M., Anke, M., Hartmann, E. and Illing-Gunther, H.: 1996, Oral cadmium exposure of adults in Germany. 1. Cadmium content of foodstuffs and beverages, Food Additives and Contaminants 13, 359-378.
Nanjing Soil Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences: 1981, Regular Analytical Methods of Soils and Plants, Science Press of China, Nanjing, P.R. China (in Chinese).
Narwal, R. P. and Singh, B. R.: 1998, Effect of organic materials on partitioning, extractability and plant uptake of metals in an alum shale soil, Water, Air, and Soil Pollut. 103, 405-421.
Robson, A. D. (ed.): 1993, Zinc in Soils and Plants, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, Vol. 55, 208 pp.
Ross, S. M. (ed.): 1994, Toxic Metals in Soil-Plant Systems, Wiley, Chichester, 469 pp.
SAS Institute, Inc.: 1996, Statistical Discovery Software, Release 6.12. SAS Institute, Inc., Cary, NC.
Scokart, P. O., Meeus-Verdinne, K. and De Borger, R.: 1983, Mobility of heavy metals in polluted soils near zinc smelters, Water, Air, and Soil Pollut. 20, 451-463.
Singh, B. R. and Steinnes, E.: 1994, Soil and Water Contamination by Heavy Metals, in R. Lal and B. Stewart (eds), Soil Processes and Water Quality, Lewis Publishers/CRC Press, pp. 233-279.
State Environmental Protection Bureau and Editorial Group: 1995, Monitoring and Analytical Method of Air and Waste Air, Environmental Science Press of China, Beijing, P.R. China (in Chinese).
State Environmental Protection Bureau and Editorial Group: 1997, Monitoring and Analytical Method of Water and Wastewater, Environmental Science Press of China, Beijing, P.R. China (in Chinese).
Steinnes, E., Allen, R. O., Petersen, H. M., Rambaek, J. P. and Varskog, P.: 1997, Evidence of large scale heavy-metal contamination of natural surface soils in Norway from long-range atmospheric transport, Sci. Total Environ. 205, 255-266.
Sterckeman, T., Douay, F., Priox, N. and Fourrier, H.: 2000, Vertical distribution of Cd, Pb and Zn in soils near smelters in the North of France, Environ. Pollut. 107, 377-389.
Stumm, W. and Morgan, J. J.: 1996, Aquatic Chemistry: Chemical Equilibria and Rates in Natural Waters, 3rd ed., John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1022 pp.
Wild, A.: 1993, Soils and the Environment: An Introduction, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Wong, J. W. C.: 1996, Heavy metal contents in vegetables and Market Garden soils in Hong Kong, Environ. Tech. 17, 407-414.
Wu, Y., Wang, X., Li, Y. and Ma, Y.: 1995, Compound Pollution of Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn and As in Plant-Soil System and its Prevention, in R. Prost (ed.), Contaminated Soils 3rd International Conference on the Biogeochemistry of Trace Elements, INRA, Paris, France.
Xu, X. H., Yang, X. S., Miller, D. R., Helble, J. J. and Carley, R. J.: 1999, Formulation of bidirectional atmosphere-surface exchanges of elemental mercury,Atmosph. Environ. 33, 4345-4355.
Yanai, J., Yabutani, M., Kang, Y. M., Huang, B., Luo, G. B. and Kosaki, T.: 1998, Heavy metal pollution of agricultural soils and sediments in Liaoning Province, China, Soil Sci. Plant Nutr. (Tokyo), 44, 367-375.
Zereen, F., Islam, F., Habib, M. A., Begum, D. A. and Zaman, M. S.: 2000, Inorganic pollutants in the Padma River, Bangladesh, Environ. Geol. 39, 1059-1062.
Zhang, H., Ma, D., Xie, Q. and Chen, X.: 1999, An approach to studying heavy metal pollution caused by modern city development in Nanjing, China, Environ. Geol. 38, 223-228.
Zhang, L., Zhang, S. and Dong, W.: 1986, Main geochemical factors affecting heavy metal transformation in the Xiang River, J. Environ. Sci. 6(4), 395-402 (in Chinese).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Haiyan, W., Stuanes, A.O. Heavy Metal Pollution in Air-Water-Soil-Plant System of Zhuzhou City, Hunan Province, China. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution 147, 79–107 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024522111341
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024522111341