A methodology for evaluating the relative pollution level of metal pollution in surface sediments of rivers based on the statistical results of relevant literatures covering world-wide rivers

Xuan Ru; Xianghong Guan; Jianbo Liao; Cong Wei; Haizhen Wu; Chaohai Wei

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.133108

A methodology for evaluating the relative pollution level of metal pollution in surface sediments of rivers based on the statistical results of relevant literatures covering world-wide rivers

J Hazard Mater. 2024 Mar 5:465:133108. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.133108. Epub 2023 Dec 11.

Authors

Xuan Ru¹, Xianghong Guan², Jianbo Liao³, Cong Wei⁴, Haizhen Wu⁵, Chaohai Wei⁶

Affiliations

¹ School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510006, PR China; School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Guilin, Guangxi 541004, PR China.
² School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510006, PR China; Guangdong Polytechnic of Water Resources and Electric Engineering, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510635, PR China.
³ School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510006, PR China; Research Center for Eco-Environmental Engineering, Dongguan University of Technology, Dongguan, Guangdong 523808, PR China.
⁴ School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510006, PR China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Solid Wastes Pollution Control and Recycling, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510006, PR China.
⁵ School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510006, PR China.
⁶ School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510006, PR China; The Key Lab of Pollution Control and Ecosystem Restoration in Industry Clusters, Ministry of Education, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, PR China. Electronic address: cechwei@scut.edu.cn.

PMID: 38118195
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.133108

Abstract

Due to the intervention of human activities, the background values of riverbed sediment exhibit spatiotemporal variability, which can affect the accuracy of risk assessment results. Using risk assessment that do not rely on background values is an executable alternative to avoid such problems. In this study, a relative pollution level assessment (RPLA) method which was based on the statistical results of relevant literatures was proposed. This method includes a four-step data processing procedure to extract the evaluation indexes of relative pollution degree of pollutants in environment and a series of relative pollution status assessment methods to evaluate the overall relative pollution level and regional difference of world-wide rivers. To demonstrate how to use RPLA method, 310 relevant literatures covering world-wide rivers were selected. And the ambient background value (x̅), the world-wide threshold values (WWTV) and the relative pollution grades (LEVEL I ∼ IV) of 9 target metals (Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, Pb, Sb and Tl) in riverbed surface sediments of world-wide rivers were extracted and used for evaluation. Moreover, the stability and applicability of RPLA method were evaluated. Results show that the evaluation results of RPLA method are robust and comparable with traditional evaluation method.

Keywords: Ambient background value; Relative pollution level; Risk assessment; Sediment; Trace metals.