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Occurrence, distribution, and pollution indices of potentially toxic elements within the bed sediments of the riverine system in Pakistan

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Abstract

Potentially toxic elements (PTEs) are a major source of pollution due to their toxicity, persistence, and bio-accumulating nature in riverine bed sediments. The sediment, as the largest storage and source of PTEs, plays an important role in transformation of mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and other toxic PTEs. Several important industrial hubs that contain a large population along the banks of different rivers, such as Kabul, Sutlej, Ravi, Jhelum, and Chenab in Pakistan, are acting as major sources of PTEs. In this study, 150 bed sediment samples (n=30 from each river) were collected from different sites. Total (acid extracted) PTE (Hg, Cu, Cr, Ni, Zn, and Pb) concentrations in bed sediments were determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Sediment pollution indices were calculated in the major rivers of Pakistan. The results demonstrated high levels of Hg and Ni concentrations which exceeded the guideline standards of river authorities in the world. The contamination factor (CF) and contamination degree (CD) indices for Hg, Ni, and Pb showed a moderate to high (CF≥6 and CD≥24) contamination level in all the selected rivers. The values of geo-accumulation index (Igeo) were also high (Igeo≥5) for Hg and Pb and heavily polluted for Ni, while Cr, Cu, and Zn showed low to unpolluted (Igeo) values. Similarly, the enrichment factor (EF) values were moderately severe (5≤EF≤10) for Hg, Pb, and Ni in Sutlej, Ravi, and Jhelum, and severe (10≤EF≤25) in Kabul and Jhelum. Moreover, Hg and Ni showed severe to very severe enrichment in all the sampling sites. The ecological risk index (ERI) values represented considerable, moderate, and low risks, respectively, for Hg (The ERI value should not be bold. Please unbold the  ERI in the whole paper. It should be same like RI, CD and EF. \( \mathtt{80}\ge \mathtt{ERI} \)≥160), Pb and Ni (40≤\( \mathtt{ERI} \)≤80), and Cr, Cu, and Zn (\( \mathtt{ERI} \)≤40). Similarly, potential ecological risk index (PERI) values posed considerable (300≤RI≤600) risk in Ravi and moderate (150≤RI≤300) in Kabul and Jhelum, but low (RI≤150) risk in Ravi and Chenab. On the basis of the abovementioned results, it is concluded that bed sediment pollution can be dangerous for both ecological resources and human beings. Therefore, PTE contamination should be regularly monitored and a cost-effective and environmentally friendly wastewater treatment plant should be installed to ensure removal of PTEs before the discharge of effluents into the freshwater ecosystems.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to the Institute of Urban Environment Chinese Academy of Sciences for providing instrumental facility for PTE analysis.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Funding

The financial support was provided by Pakistan Science Foundation under National Sciences Linkages Program Project No. (PSF/NSLP/KP-AWKUM (827).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Sciences, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Mardan, Pakistan

    Javed Nawab, Zia Ud Din, Shah Faisal, Waleed Raziq, Hamza Khan, Sajid Ullah & Abdur Rahman

  2. State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China

    Riaz Ahmad

  3. Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Peshawar, Peshawar, 25120, Pakistan

    Sardar Khan

  4. Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, 45320, Pakistan

    Mazhar Iqbal Zafar

  5. Department of Microbiology, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Mardan, Pakistan

    Zia Ur Rahman

  6. Department of Zoology, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Mardan, Pakistan

    Abid Ali & Muhammad Qayash Khan

Authors
  1. Javed Nawab
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  2. Zia Ud Din
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  3. Riaz Ahmad
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  4. Sardar Khan
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  5. Mazhar Iqbal Zafar
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  6. Shah Faisal
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  8. Hamza Khan
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  9. Zia Ur Rahman
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  10. Abid Ali
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  11. Muhammad Qayash Khan
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  12. Sajid Ullah
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  13. Abdur Rahman
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Contributions

Javed Nawab, Zia Ud Din, Riaz Ahmad, Sardar Khan, Shah Faisal, Waleed Raziq, and Hamza Khan collected the samples from different rivers and analyzed and interpreted the data regarding the PTEs. Mazhar Iqbal Zafar, Ziaur Rahman, Muahammad Qayash Khan, Javed Nawab, and Abid Ali helped in data analysis and reviewed the paper. Mr Sajid Ullah, Zia Ud Din, and Abdur Rahman performed the PTE analysis and calculated the values. Javed Nawab, Zia Ud Din, Mazhar Iqbal Zafar, and Sardar Khan play a major role in writing, revising, and polishing the manuscript. All the authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Javed Nawab or Sardar Khan.

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Nawab, J., Din, Z.U., Ahmad, R. et al. Occurrence, distribution, and pollution indices of potentially toxic elements within the bed sediments of the riverine system in Pakistan. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 54986–55002 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-14783-9

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