Human activities can introduce heavy metals to water bodies, where they are then deposited in sediments. The risks, spatial distributions, and toxicities of heavy metals in sediment were investigated along the North Canal in the densely Beijing–Tianjin area. The average geoaccumulation index ranged from 0.2 to 2.91 and the highest value was obtained for Cd. All the pollution load indexes were greater than one, indicating that the heavy metals originated from anthropogenic sources. The risk indexes at three sampling points were greater than 300, indicating high potential ecological risk. Two probable effect concentration quotient values greater than 0.5, suggesting potential toxicity to certain sediment-dwelling organisms. Identification and evalution heavy metals could assist in improvement of the water quality, and support management strategies to restore the environment.

人类活动可以将重金属引入水体，然后沉积在沉积物中。在人口密集的京津地区北运河沿线调查了沉积物中重金属的风险、空间分布和毒性。平均地积聚指数介于 0.2 到 2.91 之间，其中 Cd 获得了最高值。污染负荷指数均大于1，表明重金属来源于人为来源。三个采样点的风险指数均大于300，表明潜在生态风险较高。两个可能的效应浓度商值大于 0.5，表明对某些沉积物栖息生物具有潜在毒性。识别和评估重金属有助于改善水质，