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Potentially toxic trace element contamination, sources, and pollution assessment in farmlands, Bijie City, southwestern China

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Abstract

Artisanal zinc smelting activities, which had been widely applied in Bijie City, Guizhou Province, southwestern of China, can pollute surrounding farmlands. In the present study, 177 farmland topsoil samples of Bijie City were collected and 11 potentially toxic trace elements (PTEs), namely Pb, Zn, Cu, Ni, Co, Mn, Cr, V, Hg, As, and Cd were tested to characterize the concentrations, sources, and ecological risks. Mean concentrations of these PTEs in soils were (mg/kg) as follows: Pb (127), Zn (379), Cu (93.1), Ni (54.6), Co (26.2), Mn (1095), Cr (133), V (206), Hg (0.15), As (16.2), and Cd (3.08). Pb, Zn, and Cd had coefficients of variation greater than 100% and showed a high uneven distribution and spatial variability in the study area. Correlation coefficient analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) were used to quantify potential pollution sources. Results showed that Cu, Ni, Co, Mn, and V came from natural sources, whereas Pb, Zn, Hg, As, and Cd came from anthropogenic pollution sources. Geoaccumulation index and potential ecological risk indices were employed to study the pollution degree of PTEs, which revealed that Pb and Cd shared the greatest contamination and would pose serious ecological risks to the surrounding environment. The results of this study could help the local government managers to establish pollution control strategies and to secure food safety.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported in part by grants from the Public Welfare Project of the Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection (201409042, 201509049), Key Project from the National Science Foundation of China (41430106), and National Natural Science Foundation of China (41273092, U1402234). The authors express their sincere thanks to Prof. Brunello Ceccanti for his scientific advice and stimulating discussion.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Energy and Environmental Engineering, and National International Cooperation Base on Environment and Energy, University of Science and Technology Beijing, 30 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, 100083, Beijing, People’s Republic of China

    Zhimin Yuan, Jun Yao, Fei Wang & Zunwei Guo

  2. School of Water Resource and Environmental Engineering, Sino-Hungarian Joint Laboratory of Environmental Science and Health, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), 29 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, 100083, Beijing, People’s Republic of China

    Jun Yao

  3. Guizhou Academy of Environmental Science and Designing, 550081, Guiyang, People’s Republic of China

    Zeqin Dong, Feng Chen & Yu Hu

  4. Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, 21111 Lakeshore Road, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC, H9X 3V9, Canada

    Geoffrey Sunahara

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  1. Zhimin Yuan
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  2. Jun Yao
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  3. Fei Wang
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  4. Zunwei Guo
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  5. Zeqin Dong
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  6. Feng Chen
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  7. Yu Hu
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  8. Geoffrey Sunahara
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Correspondence to Jun Yao.

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Yuan, Z., Yao, J., Wang, F. et al. Potentially toxic trace element contamination, sources, and pollution assessment in farmlands, Bijie City, southwestern China. Environ Monit Assess 189, 25 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-016-5755-8

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