Abstract
Concentrations of trace elements and heavy metals (Al, As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, Sr, V and Zn) in the Danjiangkou Reservoir, the water source area of the Middle Route of China’s interbasin South to North Water Transfer Project, were analyzed using an Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometer (ICP-AES) and compared with the national and international standards for drinking water. The results indicated that concentrations of As, Pb, Sb and Se in the Reservoir exceeded the standards and they would pose health risk for residents in the region and the water receiving areas of the interbasin water transfer project. Spatial and temporal variability of the trace elements and heavy metals in the Reservoir implies their mixed sources of natural processing and anthropogenic activities in the upper drainage of the Reservoir. The research results would help develop water resource management and conservation strategy for the interbasin water transfer project.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aucoin J, Blanchard R, Billiot C, Partridge C, Schultz D, Mandhare K, Beck MJ, Beck JN (1999) Trace metals in fish and sediments from Lake Boeuf, Southeastern Louisiana. Microchem J 62:299–307
Audry S, Schafer J, Blanc G, Jouanneau JM (2004) Fifty-year sedimentary record of heavy metal pollution (Cd, Zn, Cu, Pb) in the Lot River reservoirs (France). Environ Pollut 132:413–426
Berkoff J (2003) China: the south–north water transfer project—is it justified. Water Policy 5:1–28
Censi P, Spoto SE, Saiano F, Sprovieri M, Mazzola S, Nardone G, DiGeronimo SI, Punturo R, Ottonello D (2006) Heavy metals in coastal water systems. A case study from the northwestern Gulf of Thailand. Chemosphere 64:1167–1176
Chen HM, Zheng CR, Tu C, Zhu YG (1999) Heavy metal pollution in soils in China: status and countermeasures. Ambio 28:130–134
Cheung KC, Poon BHT, Lan CY, Wong MH (2003) Assessment of metal and nutrient concentrations in river water and sediment collected from the cities in the Pearl River Delta, South China. Chemosphere 52:1431–1440
Chowdhury P, Louria DB (1976) Influence of cadmium and other trace metals on human alpha1–antitrypsin: an in vitro study. Science 191:480–481
Dai SG (1997) Environment chemistry. Higher Education Press, Beijing
Dauvalter VA (1998) Heavy metals in the bottom sediments of the Inari–Pasvik lake–river system. Water Resour 25:451–457
Demirak A, Yilmaz F, Tuna AL, Ozdemir N (2006) Heavy metals in water, sediment and tissues of Leuciscus cephalus from a stream in southwestern Turkey. Chemosphere 63:1451–1458
Gibbs RJ (1973) Mechanisms of trace metal transport in rivers. Science 180:71–73
Gray JE, Theodorakos PM, Elizabeth A, Bailey EA, Turner RR (2000) Distribution, speciation, and transport of mercury in stream-sediment, stream-water, and fish collected near abandoned mercury mines in southwestern Alaska, U.S.A. Sci Total Environ 260:21–33
Huang S, Liao QL, Hua M, Wu XM, Bi KS, Yan CY, Chen B, Zhang XY (2007) Survey of heavy metal pollution and assessment of agricultural soil in Yangzhong district, Jiangsu Province, China. Chemosphere 67:2148–2155
Ikem A, Egiebor NO, Nyavor K (2003) Trace elements in water, fish and sediment from Tuskegee Lake, southeastern USA. Water Air Soil Pollut 149:51–75
Johansson K, Andersson A, Andersson T (1995) Regional accumulation pattern of heavy metals in Lake sediments and forest soils in Sweden. Sci Total Environ 160/161:373–380
Klavins M, Briede A, Rodinov V, Kokorite I, Parele E, Klavina I (2000) Heavy metals in rivers of Latvia. Sci Total Environ 262:175–183
Loska K, Wiechula D (2003) Application of principal component analysis for the estimation of source of heavy metal contamination in surface sediments from the Rybnik Reservoir. Chemosphere 51:723–733
Ministry of Health, PR China (2005) Standards for Drinking Water Quality (GB5749–2005)
Niao TC, Wang HQ, Zheng CJ (1990) The research of environmental background values (in Chinese). China Environ Sci 10:255–262
Neal C, Whitehead PG, Jeffery H, Neal M (2005) The water quality of the River Carnon, west Cornwall, November 1992 to March 1994: the impacts of Wheal Jane discharges. Sci Total Environ 338:23–39
Neal C, Neal M, Hill L, Wickham H (2006) The water quality of the River Thames Basin of south/south-eastern England. Sci Total Environ 360:254–271
Nriagu JO (1986) Chemistry of the river Niger II. Trace metals. Sci Total Environ 58:89–92
Nriagu JO (1989) A global assessment of natural sources of atmospheric trace metals. Nature 338:47–49
Nriagu JO (1996) A history of global metal pollution. Science 272:223–224
Nriagu JO, Pacyna JM (1988) Quantitative assessment of worldwide contamination of air, water and soils by trace metals. Nature 333:134–139
Olias M, Ceron JC, Moral F, Ruiz F (2006) Water quality of the Guadiamar River after the Aznalcollar spill (SW Spain). Chemosphere 62:213–225
Qi JS, Fu C, Huang XS, Tan J (2002) Transfer of trace elements in water area ecology systems of the Three Gorges Reservoir (in Chinese). J Chonqing Univers (Nat Sci Edn) 25:17–20
Shao M, Tang XY, Zhang YH, Li WJ (2006) City clusters in China: air and surface water pollution. Front Ecol Environ 4:353–361
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2006) Edition of the drinking water standards and health advisories
WHO (2004) Guidelines for drinking-water quality, 3rd edn. Geneva. Word Health Organization, vol 1—recommendations
Xu XQ, Deng GQ, Hui JY, Zhang XH, Qiu CQ (1999) Heavy metals characteristics in the Three Gorges Reservoir of the Yangtze River (in Chinese). Acta Hydrobiol Sin 23:1–9
Yang HD, Rose NL, Battarbee RW (2002) Distribution of some trace metals in Lochnagar, a Scottish mountain Lake ecosystem and its catchment. Sci Total Environ 285:197–208
Yin KH, Yuan HR, Ruan Y, Li ZY (2001) Variation and correlation of environmental parameters in the water of Danjiangkou Reservoir (in Chinese). Resour Environ Yangtze Basin 10:75–81
Zhang XH, Xiao BD, Chen ZJ, Hui Y, Xu XQ (2002) Characteristics of the distribution of Cu, Pb, Cd, Cr, Zn in Xiangxi River (in Chinese). Resour Environ Yangtze Basin 11:269–273
Zhang H (2006) Environmental chemistry of soils. Chemical industry press, Beijing
Zhou KH, Liu X, Li HM, Xing XS (2004) Change law, monitoring of water quality in Huangqian Reservoir of Taian (in Chinese). J Soil Water Conserv 18:150–154
Acknowledgments
The research is jointly supported by the “Hundred-talent Project” of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (O629221C01), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (40503017), and the National Eleventh Five-Year Science and Technological Support Program of China (2006BAC10B020). We wish to thank Sheng Gu, Sha Mu, Guo Sheng and Yiping Wang for their assistance with field sampling, and Professor Hongyin Han of the Chinese University of Geosciences for the assistance on the trace elements analysis. We also thank comments and suggestions from an anonymous reviewer.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Li, S., Xu, Z., Cheng, X. et al. Dissolved trace elements and heavy metals in the Danjiangkou Reservoir, China. Environ Geol 55, 977–983 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-007-1047-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-007-1047-5