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Contamination Level, Ecological Risk, and Source Identification of Heavy Metals in the Hyporheic Zone of the Weihe River, China

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  • Muhammad Irfan Ahamad

    (Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Earth Surface System and Environmental Carrying Capacity, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710127, China
    Institute of Qinling Mountains, Northwest University, Xi’an 710127, China)

  • Jinxi Song

    (Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Earth Surface System and Environmental Carrying Capacity, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710127, China
    Institute of Qinling Mountains, Northwest University, Xi’an 710127, China
    State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling 712100, China)

  • Haotian Sun

    (Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Earth Surface System and Environmental Carrying Capacity, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710127, China
    Institute of Qinling Mountains, Northwest University, Xi’an 710127, China)

  • Xinxin Wang

    (Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Earth Surface System and Environmental Carrying Capacity, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710127, China
    Institute of Qinling Mountains, Northwest University, Xi’an 710127, China)

  • Muhammad Sajid Mehmood

    (Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Earth Surface System and Environmental Carrying Capacity, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710127, China)

  • Muhammad Sajid

    (Key Laboratory for Industrial Biocatalysis, Ministry of Education of China, Institute of Applied Chemistry, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
    Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Gujrat, Gujrat 50700, Pakistan)

  • Ping Su

    (Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Earth Surface System and Environmental Carrying Capacity, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710127, China
    Institute of Qinling Mountains, Northwest University, Xi’an 710127, China)

  • Asif Jamal Khan

    (Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Earth Surface System and Environmental Carrying Capacity, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710127, China
    Institute of Qinling Mountains, Northwest University, Xi’an 710127, China)

Abstract

The sediment pollution caused by different metals has attracted a great deal of attention because of the toxicity, persistence, and bio-accumulation. This study focuses on heavy metals in the hyporheic sediment of the Weihe River, China. Contamination levels of metals were examined by using “geo-accumulation index, enrichment factor, and contamination factor” while ecological risk of metals were determined by “potential ecological risk and risk index”. The pollutant accumulation of metals ranked as follows: “manganese (Mn) > chromium (Cr) > zinc (Zn) > copper (Cu) > nickel (Ni) > arsenic (As) > lead (Pb)”. The geo-accumulation index identified arsenic as class 1 (uncontaminated to moderate contamination), whereas Cu, Cr, Ni, Zn, Pb, and Mn were classified as class 0 (uncontaminated). According to the enrichment factor, arsenic originated through anthropogenic activities and Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, and Pb were mainly controlled by natural sources. The contamination factor elucidated that sediments were moderately polluted by (As, Cr, Cu, Zn, Mn, and Pb), whereas Ni slightly contaminated the sediments of the Weihe River. All metals posed a low ecological risk in the study area. The risk index revealed that contribution of arsenic (53.43 %) was higher than half of the total risk.

Suggested Citation

  • Muhammad Irfan Ahamad & Jinxi Song & Haotian Sun & Xinxin Wang & Muhammad Sajid Mehmood & Muhammad Sajid & Ping Su & Asif Jamal Khan, 2020. "Contamination Level, Ecological Risk, and Source Identification of Heavy Metals in the Hyporheic Zone of the Weihe River, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-17, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:3:p:1070-:d:317962
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jinxi Song & Xiaogang Yang & Junlong Zhang & Yongqing Long & Yan Zhang & Taifan Zhang, 2015. "Assessing the Variability of Heavy Metal Concentrations in Liquid-Solid Two-Phase and Related Environmental Risks in the Weihe River of Shaanxi Province, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-20, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. Marioara Nicoleta Filimon & Ion Valeriu Caraba & Roxana Popescu & Gabi Dumitrescu & Doina Verdes & Liliana Petculescu Ciochina & Adrian Sinitean, 2021. "Potential Ecological and Human Health Risks of Heavy Metals in Soils in Selected Copper Mining Areas—A Case Study: The Bor Area," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-18, February.
    2. Muhammad Shahid & Muhammad Usman & Tanvir Shahzad & Iftikhar Ali & Muhammad Umair Hassan & Faisal Mahmood & Sameer H. Qari, 2022. "Enhancement of Wheat Growth by UV-Mutagenesis of Potential Chromium Tolerant Bacillus sp. Strain SR-2-1/1," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-13, November.
    3. Marcin Sidoruk, 2023. "Pollution and Potential Ecological Risk Evaluation of Heavy Metals in the Bottom Sediments: A Case Study of Eutrophic Bukwałd Lake Located in an Agricultural Catchment," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-15, January.
    4. Kun Zhang & Bo Peng & Xia Yang, 2023. "Contamination and Risk of Heavy Metals in Sediments from Zhuzhou, Xiangtan and Changsha Sections of the Xiangjiang River, Hunan Province of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-20, September.

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