Abstract
Reservoir sediment can work as both sink and source for contaminants. Once released into the water column, contaminants can be toxic to biota and humans. We investigate potential ecological risk to benthic organisms by metals contamination in six reservoirs in Southeast Brazil. Results of the bioavailable fraction of copper (Cu), chromium (Cr), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), and iron (Fe) in sediment samples are presented. Considering Cu, Cd, and Zn concentrations, about 6% of the samples exceeded the threshold effect levels of sediment quality guidelines. The comparison to sediment quality guidelines is conservative because we used a moderate metal extraction. Control of contaminant sources in these reservoirs is key because they are sources of water and food. The mixture toxicity assessment showed an increased incidence of toxicity to aquatic organisms showing that mixture toxicity should be taken into account in sediment assessment criteria.
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Acknowledgements
We are grateful for the study area map and scientific contribution provided by José Reinaldo Paranaiba. This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior—Brasil (CAPES)—Finance Code 001. This work was also supported by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for Research Productivity Grant provided to FR (473141/2013–2).
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Quadra, G.R., Lino, A., Sobek, A. et al. Environmental Risk of Metal Contamination in Sediments of Tropical Reservoirs. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 103, 292–301 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-019-02668-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-019-02668-0