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The distribution and risk assessment of heavy metals in water, sediments, and fish of Chaohu Lake, China

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Abstract

In this study, the concentrations of seven heavy metals (As, Cd, Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb, and Zn) in the water, sediments, and nine tissues of eight fish species in Chaohu Lake were detected. And the ecological risk of sediments and food safety caused by heavy metals were evaluated. The mean concentrations of metals (As: 8.21, Cd: 0.58, Cu: 2.56, Cr: 0.50, Ni: 26.47, Pb: 3.51, Zn: 23.05 μg/L) in the water were found lower than the threshold values for the first-grade water quality (China environmental quality standards for surface water). The mean concentrations of Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn in the sediments were 41.79, 19.31, 7.61, 7.09, and 102.85 μg/g, respectively, while the concentration of As and Cd was recorded below the detection limit. The ecological risk assessment demonstrated that metals in the sediments posed low ecological risk. The bioaccumulation of metals in fish tissues showed relatively high concentrations in liver, brain, kidney, and intestines while low levels of metals were detected in muscle. A fascinating phenomenon was firstly noticed that all metals highly existed in fish brain and exhibited an especially significant positive correlation with the metal concentrations in sediment, indicating a health risk for Chinese due to their consumption favor of fish head.

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Acknowledgements

This study is supported by the Special Fund for Agro-scientific Research in the Public Interest (Grant No. 201503108).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Fisheries, Huazhong Agricultural University, Hubei Provincial Engineering Laboratory for Pond Aquaculture, Shizishan Street 1, Wuhan, 430070, People’s Republic of China

    Jiaojiao Yin, Qi Liu, Li Wang, Jian Li, Sai Li & Xuezhen Zhang

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  1. Jiaojiao Yin
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  2. Qi Liu
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  3. Li Wang
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  4. Jian Li
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Correspondence to Xuezhen Zhang.

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Yin, J., Liu, Q., Wang, L. et al. The distribution and risk assessment of heavy metals in water, sediments, and fish of Chaohu Lake, China. Environ Earth Sci 77, 97 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-018-7276-y

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