Abstract
A comprehensive analysis of heavy metal speciation, risk, and bioavailability in the sediments of three rivers in northern China (Shaocun River (SR), Wangyang River (WR), and Xiao River (XR)) was conducted. The results showed that higher pollution input resulting from urbanization and industrialization caused higher heavy metal contents and bioavailable proportion in the studied sediments. Total contents of all studied metals (Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn) in the sediments of SR, WR, and XR were 270.31, 902.62, and 2367.46 mg/kg, respectively. The average percentages of bioavailable fractions were 31.16, 61.73, and 81.69 %, respectively. Cr, Ni, and Pb were all mainly observed in the B4 (residual) fraction in the studied sediments, with an average percentage of 42.03, 48.19, and 55.08 %, respectively. Cu was mainly observed in the B2 (reducible) fraction (40.53 %). Zn was mainly observed in the B1 (exchangeable/acid soluble/carbonate) fraction (36.01 %), resulting in medium or high risk associated with Zn in the sediments of SR, WR, and XR. Sedimentary heavy metal risk and bioavailability associated with regional urbanization and industrialization should be taken into consideration with respect to the health of aquatic ecosystems.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alvarez MB, Domini CE, Garrido M, Lista AG, Fernandez-Band BS (2011) Single-step chemical extraction procedures and chemometrics for assessment of heavy metal behaviour in sediment samples from the Bahia Blanca estuary, Argentina. J Soil Sediment 11:657–666
Chai Y, Guo J, Chai SL, Cai J, Xue LF, Zhang QW (2015) Source identification of eight heavy metals in grassland soils by multivariate analysis from the Baicheng-Songyuan area, Jilin Province, Northeast China. Chemosphere 134:67–75
Chakarvorty M, Dwivedi AK, Shukla AD, Kumar S, Niyogi A, Usmani M, Pati JK (2015) Geochemistry and magnetic measurements of suspended sediment in urban sewage water vis-a-vis quantification of heavy metal pollution in Ganga and Yamuna Rivers, India. Environ Monit Assess 187:604
Chen M, Li XM, Yang Q, Zeng GM, Zhang Y, Liao DX, Liu JJ, JM H, Guo L (2008) Total concentrations and speciation of heavy metals in municipal sludge from Changsha, Zhuzhou and Xiangtan in middle-south region of China. J Hazard Mater 160:324–329
Davutluoglu OI, Seckın G, Kalat DG, Yılmaz T, Ersu CB (2010) Speciation and implications of heavy metal content in surface sediments of Akyatan Lagoon—Turkey. Desalination 260:199–210
Dong B, Liu XG, Dai LL, Dai XH (2013) Changes of heavy metal speciation during high-solid anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge. Bioresource Technol 131:152–158
Dragovic S, Mihailovic N, Gajic B (2008) Heavy metals in soils: distribution, relationship with soil characteristics and radionuclides and multivariate assessment of contamination sources. Chemosphere 72:491–495
Dundar MS, Altundag H, Eyupoglu V, Keskin CS, Tutunoglu C (2012) Determination of heavy metals in lower Sakarya river sediments using a BCR-sequential extraction procedure. Environ Monit Assess 184:33–41
Fuentes A, Llorens M, Saez J, Aguilar MI, Ortuno JF, Meseguer VF (2008) Comparative study of six different sludges by sequential speciation of heavy metals. Bioresource Technol 99:517–525
Huang Y, Li YX, Gao FW, MM X, Sun B, Wang N, Yang J (2015) Speciation and risk assessment of heavy metal in surface sediments from the heavily pollution area of Xiaoqing River. Environ Sci 36:2046–2053 In Chinese
Islam MS, Ahmed MK, Raknuzzaman M, Habibullah-Al-Mamun M, Islam MK (2015) Heavy metal pollution in surface water and sediment: a preliminary assessment of an urban river in a developing country. Ecol Indic 48:282–291
Jain CK (2004) Metal fractionation study on bed sediments of River Yamuna, India. Water Res 38:569–578
Jain CK, Gupta H, Chakrapani GJ (2008) Enrichment and fractionation of heavy metals in bed sediments of River Narmada, India. Environ Monit Assess 141:35–47
Kucuksezgin F, Uluturhan E, Batki H (2008) Distribution of heavy metals in water, particulate matter and sediments of Gediz River (Eastern Aegean. Environ Monit Assess 141:213–225
Lasheen MR, Ammar NS (2009) Assessment of metals speciation in sewage sludge and stabilized sludge from different wastewater treatment plants, Greater Cairo, Egypt. J Hazard Mater 164:740–749
Ma ZW, Chen K, Yuan ZW, Bi J, Huang L (2013) Ecological risk assessment of heavy metals in surface sediments of six major Chinese freshwater lakes. J Environ Qual 42:341–350
Nemati K, Abu Bakar NK, Abas MR, Sobhanzadeh E (2011) Speciation of heavy metals by modified BCR sequential extraction procedure in different depths of sediments from Sungai Buloh, Selangor, Malaysia. J Hazard Mater 192:402–410
Niu LL, Yang FX, Xu C, Yang HY, Liu WP (2013) Status of metal accumulation in farmland soils across China: from distribution to risk assessment. Environ Pollut 176:55–62
Nobi EP, Dilipan E, Thangaradjou T, Sivakumar K, Kannan L (2010) Geochemical and geo-statistical assessment of heavy metal concentration in the sediments of different coastal ecosystems of Andaman Islands, India. Estuarine Coastal Shelf 87:253–264
Singh KP, Mohan D, Singh VK, Malik A (2005) Studies on distribution and fractionation of heavy metals in Gomti river sediments—a tributary of the Ganges, India. J Hydrol 312:14–27
Sundaray SK, Nayak BB, Lin S, Bhatta D (2011) Geochemical speciation and risk assessment of heavy metals in the river estuarine sediments—a case study: Mahanadi basin, India. J Hazard Mater 186:1837–1846
Sungur A, Soylak M, Yilmaz S, Ozcan H (2014) Determination of heavy metals in sediments of the Ergene River by BCR sequential extraction method. Environ Earth Sci 72:3293–3305
Suresh G, Sutharsan P, Ramasamy V, Venkatachalapathy R (2012) Assessment of spatial distribution and potential ecological risk of the heavy metals in relation to granulometric contents of Veeranam lake sediments, India. Ecotox Environ Safe 84:117–124
Tang WZ, Zhao Y, Wang C, Shan BQ, Cui JG (2013) Heavy metal contamination of overlying waters and bed sediments of Haihe Basin in China. Ecotox Environ Safe 98:317–323
Tang WZ, Zhang H, Shan BQ, Li SS (2015) Accumulation and risk assessment of sedimentary trace metals in response to industrialization from the tributaries of Fuyang River System. Environ Earth Sci 73:1975–1982
Wang LJ, RL Y, GR H, XL T (2010) Speciation and assessment of heavy metals in surface sediments of Jinjiang River tidal reach, southeast of China. Environ Monit Assess 165:491–499
Weng H, Ma X, Fu F, Zhang J, Liu Z, Tian L, Liu C (2014) Transformation of heavy metal speciation during sludge drying: mechanistic insights. J Hazard Mater 265:96–103
Xiao R, Bai JH, Gao HF, Wang JJ, Huang LB, Liu PP (2012) Distribution and contamination assessment of heavy metals in water and soils from the college town in the Pearl River Delta, China. Clean-Soil Air Water 40:1167–1173
Xiao ZH, Yuan XZ, Li H, Jiang LB, Leng LJ, Chen XH, Zeng GM, Li F, Cao L (2015) Chemical speciation, mobility and phyto-accessibility of heavy metals in fly ash and slag from combustion of pelletized municipal sewage sludge. Sci Total Environ 536:774–783
Yang Z, Wang Y, Shen Z, Niu J, Tang Z (2009) Distribution and speciation of heavy metals in sediments from the mainstream, tributaries, and lakes of the Yangtze River catchment of Wuhan, China. J Hazard Mater 166:1186–1194
Yao J, Li WB, Kong QN, YY W, He R, Shen DS (2010) Content, mobility and transfer behavior of heavy metals in MSWI bottom ash in Zhejiang province, China. Fuel 89:616–622
Yuan XZ, Huang HJ, Zeng GM, Li H, Wang JY, Zhou CF, Zhu HN, Pei XK, Liu ZF, Liu ZT (2011) Total concentrations and chemical speciation of heavy metals in liquefaction residues of sewage sludge. Bioresource Technol 102:4104–4110
Zhang C, ZG Y, Zeng GM, Jiang M, Yang ZZ, Cui F, Zhu MY, Shen LQ, Hu L (2014) Effects of sediment geochemical properties on heavy metal bioavailability. Environ Int 73:270–281
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the Major Science and Technology Program for Water Pollution Control and Treatment (No. 2012ZX07203-003) and the special fund from the State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control (Project No. 15L01ESPC), and we also acknowledge the support received by Dr. Wenzhong Tang from the Chinese Scholarship Council (CSC Grant 201604910224).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Additional information
Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Tang, W., Shan, B., Zhang, H. et al. Heavy metal speciation, risk, and bioavailability in the sediments of rivers with different pollution sources and intensity. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 23630–23637 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-7575-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-7575-3