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Heavy Metals in Suspended Particulate Matter of the Zhujiang River, Southwest China: Contents, Sources, and Health Risks

Author

Listed:
  • Jie Zeng

    (Institute of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China)

  • Guilin Han

    (Institute of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China)

  • Qixin Wu

    (Key Laboratory of Karst Environment and Geohazard, Ministry of Land and Resources, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China)

  • Yang Tang

    (State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang 550081, China)

Abstract

To investigate the abundance, water/particle interaction behavior, sources, and potential risk of heavy metals in suspended particulate matter (SPM), a total of 22 SPM samples were collected from the Zhujiang River, Southwest China, in July 2014 (wet season). Nine heavy metal(loid)s (V, Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd and Pb) in SPM were detected. The results show that the selected heavy metal(loid)s in SPM appear in the following order: Mn (982.4 mg kg −1 ) > Zn (186.8 mg kg −1 ) > V (143.6 mg kg −1 ) > Cr (129.1 mg kg −1 ) > As (116.8 mg kg −1 ) > Cu (44.1 mg kg −1 ) > Ni (39.9 mg kg −1 ) > Pb (38.1 mg kg −1 ) > Cd (3.8 mg kg −1 ). Furthermore, both the enrichment factor (EF) and geo-accumulation index (I geo ) indicate that SPM is extremely enriched in metal(loid)s of Cd and As, while SPM is slightly enriched, or not enriched, in other heavy metals. According to the toxic risk index (TRI) and hazard index (HI), arsenic accounts for the majority of the SPM toxicity (TRI = 8, 48.3 ± 10.4%) and causes the primary health risk (HI > 1), and the potential risks of V and Cr are also not negligible. By applying a correlation matrix and principal component analysis (PCA), three principal components (PC) were identified and accounted for 79.19% of the total variance. PC 1 (V, Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, and Pb) is controlled by natural origins. PC 2 (As and Cd) is mainly contributed by anthropogenic origins in the basin. PC 3 (Zn) can be attributed to mixed sources of natural and anthropogenic origins. Moreover, all the partition coefficients (lgK d ) exceeded 2.9 (arithmetical mean value order: Mn > Pb > Cd > V ≈ Cu > Cr ≈ Ni), indicating the powerful adsorptive ability of SPM for these heavy metal(loid)s during water/particle interaction.

Suggested Citation

  • Jie Zeng & Guilin Han & Qixin Wu & Yang Tang, 2019. "Heavy Metals in Suspended Particulate Matter of the Zhujiang River, Southwest China: Contents, Sources, and Health Risks," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-16, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:10:p:1843-:d:233934
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Tingting Wu & Xiangyang Bi & Zhonggen Li & Guangyi Sun & Xinbin Feng & Lihai Shang & Hua Zhang & Tianrong He & Ji Chen, 2017. "Contaminations, Sources, and Health Risks of Trace Metal(loid)s in Street Dust of a Small City Impacted by Artisanal Zn Smelting Activities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-19, August.
    2. Dejun Wan & Changlin Zhan & Guanglin Yang & Xingqi Liu & Jinsong Yang, 2016. "Preliminary Assessment of Health Risks of Potentially Toxic Elements in Settled Dust over Beijing Urban Area," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-15, May.
    3. Qingzhen Yao & Xiaojing Wang & Huimin Jian & Hongtao Chen & Zhigang Yu, 2015. "Characterization of the Particle Size Fraction associated with Heavy Metals in Suspended Sediments of the Yellow River," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-20, June.
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    3. Wenxiang Zhou & Guilin Han & Man Liu & Chao Song & Xiaoqiang Li & Fairda Malem, 2020. "Vertical Distribution and Controlling Factors Exploration of Sc, V, Co, Ni, Mo and Ba in Six Soil Profiles of The Mun River Basin, Northeast Thailand," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-14, March.
    4. Yanzhuo Liu & Shanshan Song & Chunjuan Bi & Junli Zhao & Di Xi & Ziqi Su, 2019. "Occurrence, Distribution and Risk Assessment of Mercury in Multimedia of Soil-Dust-Plants in Shanghai, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-19, August.
    5. Jie Zeng & Guilin Han & Shitong Zhang & Qian Zhang, 2022. "Suspended Sediments Quality Assessment in a Coastal River: Identification of Potentially Toxic Elements," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-14, April.

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