Source-specific ecological risk assessment and quantitative source apportionment of heavy metals in surface sediments of Pearl River Estuary, China

He Xiao; Asfandyar Shahab; Feng Ye; Gangjian Wei; Jieyue Li; Liming Deng

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.113726

Source-specific ecological risk assessment and quantitative source apportionment of heavy metals in surface sediments of Pearl River Estuary, China

Mar Pollut Bull. 2022 Jun:179:113726. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.113726. Epub 2022 May 11.

Authors

He Xiao¹, Asfandyar Shahab², Feng Ye³, Gangjian Wei⁴, Jieyue Li², Liming Deng²

Affiliations

¹ Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory, Guangzhou 511458, China; State Key Laboratory of Isotope Geochemistry, CAS Center for Excellence in Deep Earth Science, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China; College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541004, China.
² College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541004, China.
³ Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory, Guangzhou 511458, China; State Key Laboratory of Isotope Geochemistry, CAS Center for Excellence in Deep Earth Science, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China.
⁴ Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory, Guangzhou 511458, China; State Key Laboratory of Isotope Geochemistry, CAS Center for Excellence in Deep Earth Science, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China. Electronic address: gjwei@gig.ac.cn.

PMID: 35567962
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.113726

Abstract

In this study, surface sediments of the Pearl River Estuary were collected from 29 stations and investigated the spatial distribution, pollution level, quantitative source apportionment, and source-specific ecological risk of 10 heavy metals. The mean concentrations followed the order of Mn > Zn > Cr > Cu > Ni > Pb > As > Co > Cd > Hg. In terms of spatial distribution, it showed that the heavy metals were enriched in the inner Pearl River Estuary with 'extremely high' level of Hg, whereas, Cd and Zn posed 'moderate to high' contamination potential. We apportioned four main sources using positive matrix factorization model, in which natural geogenic and industrial manufacturing sources accounted for 36.84% and 27.11% of the total, respectively. However, the source-specific risk assessment suggested that mixed anthropogenic sources were the main contributors, and ecological risks were strongly affected by anthropogenic imports from the surrounding cities.

Keywords: Heavy metal contamination; Pearl River Estuary; Positive matrix factorization; Source-specific risk.

MeSH terms

Cadmium
China
Environmental Monitoring
Estuaries
Geologic Sediments
Mercury* / analysis
Metals, Heavy* / analysis
Risk Assessment
Rivers
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / analysis

Substances

Metals, Heavy
Water Pollutants, Chemical
Cadmium
Mercury