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Metal distribution and bioavailability in surface sediments from the Huaihe River, Anhui, China

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Abstract

This study presents the total concentrations and chemical fractionations of metals (Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni, Fe, and Mn) in 54 surface sediment samples collected from the Huaihe River (Anhui Province) in eastern China. Compared with the average shale values, Zn and Pb exhibited the most substantial anthropogenic enrichment, especially in Fengtai and Huainan areas, the main industrial districts along the Huaihe River (Anhui Province). Low levels of Cu and Ni were observed in the sediments. Based on risk assessment code (RAC), the metals associated with weak acid soluble (F1) in the Huaihe River sediments followed the order: Mn > Zn > Cu > Pb > Ni > Fe. Manganese presented the most potential for releasing into the aqueous environment and can easily enter the food chain. Copper, zinc, nickel, and iron were found dominant in the residual fraction, implying that these four metals were strongly bound to the sediments. Lead showed a different partitioning pattern from that of other metals studied, with a large percentage in Fe-Mn oxide fraction, indicating that slight redox potential changes may make significant influence on the removability of Pb. Moreover, Cu in oxidizable (F3) and residual (F4) fractions presented high positive correlation with organic matter, which can explain the high percentage of Cu in these two fractions.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the Program for National Key Technology Research and Development Program, Ministry of Science and Technology, China (Grant no. 2010BAC10B02), Key Program for Science and Technology Development of Anhui Province (No. 12010402111), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41373110). We acknowledge the editors and reviewers for polishing the language of the paper and for the in-depth discussion.

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  1. CAS Key Laboratory of Crust-Mantle Materials and the Environments, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China

    Jie Wang, Guijian Liu, lanlan Lu & Houqi Liu

  2. State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an, Shaanxi, 710075, China

    Jie Wang & Guijian Liu

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  1. Jie Wang
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  2. Guijian Liu
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Wang, J., Liu, G., Lu, l. et al. Metal distribution and bioavailability in surface sediments from the Huaihe River, Anhui, China. Environ Monit Assess 188, 3 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-015-5005-5

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