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Heavy metal(loid) risk assessment and nutrient characteristics of sediments from an urban river in Ningbo, China

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Abstract

Rapid industrialization and urbanization have resulted in heavy metal(loid) pollution in aquatic environments in China. It may be beneficial to dredge sediments with low levels of metal(loid) contamination and utilize the nutrient-rich sediments in agricultural applications. However, relatively little is known about the human health risks from heavy metal(loid)s and nutrients in river sediments. In this study, sediment pollution levels and human health risks from seven heavy metal(loid)s and a range of nutrients in Fuchunjiang River (Ningbo, Zhejiang) sediment were investigated in eleven surface samples. Higher Zn, Cd, Cu, As, Pb, Ni, and Cr concentrations were measured in surface sediments compared with local background concentrations. Geoaccumulation index (Igeo) values show that sediments are moderately to heavily polluted by Cd and Zn, moderately polluted by Cu, and unpolluted to moderately polluted by As, Ni, and Pb. The concentrations of As, Zn, Ni, and Cr pose a risk to aquatic biota. However, mean metal(loid)s concentrations were lower than intervention values stated in GB15618-2018 (the State Standard of the People’s Republic of China). The hazard index (HI) and cancer risk (CR) values for humans were lower than acceptable levels, suggesting little or no health risks from heavy metal(loid) contaminated sediments. The high organic matter (OM) and available potassium (AK) concentrations and low alkaline hydrolysis nitrogen (AN) concentration suggest that the river sediments are suitable for agricultural utilization and would provide valuable resources for agricultural soils.

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Funding

This research was supported by the Key Research and Development Program of Zhejiang Province (2015C03011) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31572194).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Agricultural Resource and Environment, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China

    Mengjiao Liu, Jun Wang & Lianghuan Wu

  2. State Key Laboratory of Nutrition Resources Integrated Utilization, Kingenta Ecological Engineering Group Co., Ltd., Linyi, 276000, Shandong, China

    Zhaoping Hu

  3. School of Geographic Science, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130024, China

    Zhongqiang Wang

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  1. Mengjiao Liu
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  2. Zhongqiang Wang
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  3. Jun Wang
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  5. Lianghuan Wu
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Correspondence to Lianghuan Wu.

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Responsible editor: Amjad Kallel

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Liu, M., Wang, Z., Wang, J. et al. Heavy metal(loid) risk assessment and nutrient characteristics of sediments from an urban river in Ningbo, China. Arab J Geosci 14, 864 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-021-07172-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-021-07172-6

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