Analysis of heavy metals in road-deposited sediments

Road-deposited sediments were analysed for heavy metal concentrations at three different landuses (residential, industrial, commercial) in Queensland State, Australia. The sediments were collected using a domestic vacuum cleaner which was proven to be highly efficient in collecting sub-micron particles. Five particle sizes were analysed separately for eight heavy metal elements (Zn, Fe, Pb, Cd, Cu, Cr, Al and Mn). At all sites, the maximum concentration of the heavy metals occurred in the 0.45-75 μm particle size range, which conventional street cleaning services do not remove efficiently. Multicriteria decision making methods (MCDM), PROMETHEE and GAIA, were employed in the data analysis. PROMETHEE, a non-parametric ranking analysis procedure, was used to rank the metal contents of the sediments sampled at each site. The most polluted site and particle size range were the industrial site and the 0.45-75 μm range, respectively. Although the industrial site displayed the highest metal concentrations, the highest heavy metal loading coincided with the highest sediment load, which occurred at the commercial site. GAIA, a special form of principal component analysis, was applied to determine correlations between the heavy metals and particle size ranges and also to assess possible correlation with total organic carbon (TOC). The GAIA-planes revealed that irrespective of the site, most of the heavy metals are adsorbed to sediments below 150 μm. A weak correlation was found between Zn, Mn and TOC at the commercial site. This could lead to higher bioavailability of these metals through complexation reactions with the organic species in the sediments.     

Environmental mobility of trace metals in sediments collected in the Lake Balaton

In environmental pollution studies on solid materials sequential extraction techniques are used for the identification of the main binding sites of trace metals. A four-step sequential extraction procedure was applied to the determination of the distribution of elements like Cd, Cu, As, Pb, Cr, Ni, Zn, Al, Fe, and Mn in sediment samples collected in the Lake Balaton. The fractions were (1) exchangeable and bound to carbonate, (2) bound to Fe/Mn oxide, (3) bound to organic matter and sulfides, and (4) acid-soluble. Elements were mainly accumulated in the stable, acid-soluble fractions. Arsenic and Cd-ions were found in low concentration (1.2–13 mg/kg and < 1 mg/kg, respectively) in the samples. Based on the results determined at 15 sampling points it can be stated that the Lake Balaton has not yet been polluted by the elements investigated.     

Sources of heavy metals in the Western Bay of Izmit surface sediments

The study aimed to examine source apportionment of heavy metals of the surface sediments in the <63?µm size fraction. The sediment samples collected from 34 sites at the Western Bay of Izmit were subjected to a total digestion technique and analysed for major (total organic carbon, Al, Fe, Mg, and S) and trace (As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sn, V, and Zn) elements by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry. The results were compared with the marine sediment quality standards, as well as literature values reported to assess the pollution status of the sediments. A factor analysis/multiple regression (FA/MR) multivariate receptor modelling technique was used for quantitative source apportionment to estimate the contributions from each source of contamination. Source fingerprints were obtained from the literature. A varimax rotated factor analysis was applied to the whole data set, and four probable source types were identified as the iron and steel industry, paint industry, crustal and sewage for heavy metals, explaining about 84% of the total variance. Source apportionment results derived from the FA and FA/MR methods agree well with each other.     

Fractionation and speciation analysis of heavy metals in the Azov Sea bottom sediments

The fractionation and speciation analysis of heavy metals in bottom sediment samples from the Azov Sea were performed. Seven-step sequential extraction was used to extract element species differing in physicochemical mobility and biological availability. Special attention was paid to the study of ecologically valuable mobile fractions: exchangeable, acid-soluble, readily reducible, and readily oxidizable ones. It was shown that the total concentration of mobile copper, zinc, and lead species isolated in four extraction steps was higher than the MPCs for mobile species extractable with an ammonium acetate buffer solution (1.1–3.3 PMC), which points to the technogenic contamination of bottom sediments and their potential hazard to hydrobionts. For finely dispersed silt samples taken near the Kerch Strait, elevated concentrations of zinc and copper (up to 10 and 5 mg/kg, respectively) were found in the most mobile exchangeable fraction directly available to living organisms, which indicates the presence of an active contamination source in this water area. The binding of metals to mineral phases in samples of different lithological types was studied.     

Assessing spatial distribution,sources, and potential ecological risk of heavy metals in surface sediments of the Nansi Lake,Eastern China

The study is conducted to investigate the spatial distribution, sources and ecological risk of seven heavy metals in surface sediments of Nansi Lake, Eastern China. A total of 29 samples were collected in surface sediments of Nansi Lake, and were analyzed for three nutrients (TN, TOC and TP), two major metals (Al and Fe), as well as seven trace metals (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Pb and Zn). The mean concentrations of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Pb, Zn, Fe and Al were 14.41, 0.22, 71.10, 30.1, 0.048, 29.14, 90.2, 30,816 and 70,653 mg kg^?1, respectively, and the mean contents of these metals were higher than the background values with the exception of Cu and Fe. The spatial distribution indicated that the contents of all seven heavy metals were characterized by relatively higher contents in the upper lake than the lower lake. The hotspots with high values of As, Cd and Hg were associated with the river mouths, and the hotspots of Pb were mainly located around the dam in the central part, while no significant associations were displayed between spatial distribution of Cr, Cu, Zn and the river mouths. The mean enrichment factor (EF) values of As, Cd, Hg and Pb were 2.03, 2.93, 3.21 and 2.18, respectively, showing their moderate enrichment, while Cr, Cu and Zn with mean EF values of 1.19, 0.89 and 1.01 were deficiency to minimal enrichment. Multivariate and geostatistical analyses suggested that PC1 controlled by Cr, Cu and Zn was a lithogenic component, and come from parent rocks leaching. PC2 including Cd and partially Hg represented the factor from industrial wastewater discharge. PC3 showed elevated loadings of As and partially Cd, and could be attributed to the agricultural practices. While PC4 including Pb and partially Hg, was dominated by coal combustion. The results of potential ecological risk suggested that sediment environment of Nansi Lake suffered from high ecological risk.     

Speciation of heavy metals in sediments of the lagoon of Venice collected in the industrial area

In this study a procedure of sequential extraction of metals from sediments was applied to samples from the lagoon of Venice. Compared to the measurement of total concentrations, the knowledge of metal partitioning among sediment phases can help in estimating the risk posed by metal polluted sediments and give information on contamination sources and on the factors that influence metal enrichment in sediments. The results permitted to estimate for each metal the percentage of the total content that could be potentially remobilized from sediments, owing to changes in environmental conditions. The immediately available fraction represented in general a low proportion of the total content. An important proportion of most metals (except for Zn, Cd and Cu) was associated to residual phases and therefore was not expected to be released under the normal environmental conditions. The large amounts of metals bound to Fe-Mn oxides/hydroxides confirmed the strong scavenging efficiency of this phase. The carbonate phase was the preferential associative form for Pb, Cd and Zn, whereas Cu was bound in prevalence to the organic matter/sulphide phase.     

Determination of heavy metals in the Rock River (Illinois) through the analysis of sediments

Neutron activation analysis has been used to analyze sediment cores from the Rock River and two branches of Kent Creek, one of its tributaries, to determine the concentrations of thirteen heavy metals (Ti, Cu, V, Mn, As, Sb, Se, Cr, Ni, Sc, Fe, Zn, and Co) and two rare earths (Sm and La). The downstream sites of both the Rock River and the two branches of Kent Creek have elevated concentrations of several heavy metals including arsenic, antimony, and zinc. In addition, hundreds of parts per million of copper have been found in samples from the downstream site of the North Fork of Kent Creek. Toxicity tests of the sediment also indicate that the downstream sites are detrimental to lifeforms. Analysis of the data from the two branches of Kent Creek clearly indicate that heavy metal concentrations increase as the distance from the center of industrial activity (Rockford) decreases.     

Analysis of sediments for heavy metals by a rapid electrothermal atomic-absorption procedure

A rapid electrothermal atomic-absorption spectrophotometric procedure with homogenization as the only pretreatment is compared with two wet pretreatment methods followed by flame atomic-absorption, in a statistically designed experiment. Samples from the top 5 cm of sediments at three different points of the Tejo estuary were used for the tests. The results show that the electrothermal procedure performed as well as whichever was the better of the flame methods for the determination of cadmium and nickel, irrespective of the sand content of the samples; although not statistically significant, there was apparently a decrease in recovery for chromium, copper and lead by the electrothermal method as the sand content of the sample increased. For zinc the electrothermal method gave results statistically different from those of the flame procedures when the sand content was high but not when the organic content of the sample was high. Because of the limited degree of replication (5 variates) the relative differences between the average values obtained by the three methods were significant only if they exceeded 15%. The electrothermal method has the advantage of substantially greater speed.     

全自动消解-电感耦合等离子体质谱(ICP-MS)法测定海洋沉积物中重金属

目前海洋沉积物前处理主要通过电热板消解,但该方法存在消解不完全、前处理时间长、重复性较差以及手工消解操作繁琐等问题。为提高海洋沉积物重金属消解效率,通过考察硝酸、盐酸、氢氟酸和高氯酸组合酸体系比例和最高消解温度对海洋沉积物预处理的影响,确定了最优的消解条件,建立了全自动消解-电感耦合等离子体质谱仪测定海洋沉积物中重金属的方法。结果显示硝酸占比越高各元素消解效果越好,盐酸用量不宜过多,逆王水消解比例最好。最优预处理条件为9 mL硝酸、3 mL盐酸、4 mL氢氟酸和2 mL高氯酸于160℃高温消解。该预处理条件下各元素相关性系数均大于0.999,经海洋沉积物标准样品（GBW07314）和实际样品应用,与国标法（GB/T 20260-2006）相比优化条件下各元素精密度和正确度均显著提高、检出限更低。各元素的相对标准偏差分别为0.9%~3.3%、0.5%~3.4%,回收率均在84.2%~102%。该方法自动化程度高、操作简便,可实现大批量样品预处理,适用于海洋沉积物中重金属元素的测定。     

Spatial distribution and accumulation of heavy metals in tidal flat sediments of Shanghai coastal zone

Surface and core sediments from the high, middle and low tidal flats of Shanghai coastal zone were analyzed for heavy metal (e.g. Cu, Pb, Zn, Cr, Cd, Fe, Mn) concentrations. Besides Cd, the concentrations of Cu, Zn, Cr and Pb are 2–5 times higher than their background values and show serious pollution trend due to the direct discharge of industrial and municipal sewage along the Shanghai tidal flat, as well as the wet and dry depositions of industrial dusts. It seems that heavy metals prefer to accumulate and be enriched in the sediments near large sewage outlets, high flats, and the subsurface layer at the depth of 10–30 cm. Several main factors, which include the direct sewage discharge along the tidal flat, tidal hydrodynamic action, large engineering activity, early diagenesis and windstorm tide, are considered to be responsible for influencing spatial distribution patterns of heavy metals in the Shanghai tidal flat.

     

Spatial distribution and accumulation of heavy metals in tidal flat sediments of Shanghai coastal zone

Surface and core sediments from the high, middle and low tidal flats of Shanghai coastal zone were analyzed for heavy metal (e.g. Cu, Pb, Zn, Cr, Cd, Fe, Mn) concentrations. Besides Cd, the concentrations of Cu, Zn, Cr and Pb are 2-5 times higher than their background values and show serious pollution trend due to the direct discharge of industrial and municipal sewage along the Shanghai tidal flat, as well as the wet and dry depositions of industrial dusts. It seems that heavy metals prefer to accumulate and be enriched in the sediments near large sewage outlets, high flats, and the subsurface layer at the depth of 10-30 cm. Several main factors, which include the direct sewage discharge along the tidal flat, tidal hydrodynamic action, large engineering activity, early diagenesis and windstorm tide, are considered to be responsible for influencing spatial distribution patterns of heavy metals in the Shanghai tidal flat.     

Geochemical investigation of alluvial sediments: validation of ICP-OES determination of heavy metals. A case study from the Utrata River Valley (central Poland)

The development and validation of a reliable analytical procedure for the determination of selected metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Zn and Mn) in sediments accumulated in the Utrata River (Poland) is described. The aqua regia extraction followed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) was used for this purpose. The optimized analytical procedure was validated, and adequate quality control actions were implemented in order to provide reliable data. The precision under’ within-laboratory’ reproducibility conditions was estimated from duplicate analysis. Certified reference material (CRM) was used in order to evaluate the accuracy of the results regarding the sewage sludge amended soil CRM 143R. The detection limits for all elements of interest were well-below their content in the investigated sediment samples. The obtained reliable data could be used for assessment of the relationship between human economic activity in the past and the geochemical features of the sediments.     

Comparison of microwave-assisted acid leaching techniques for the determination of heavy metals in sediments, soils, and sludges

Microwave-assisted EPA method 3051 for nitric acid leaching of environmentally key elements from sediments, soils, and sludges was tested, and the influence of leaching temperature and time on element recovery for an estuarine sediment (CRM 277) was investigated. The extraction efficiencies for four certified reference materials applying EPA method 3051, an optimized nitric acid procedure, and an aqua regia (HCl/HNO₃ 3:1) procedure were compared. Digestions were carried out in a high-pressure microwave system offering simultaneous temperature and pressure control for all digestion vessels employed. Eight elements (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn) were determined by ICP-AES and ICP-MS. Extraction efficiency strongly depended on the applied leaching parameters and varied for certain elements among different materials when a nitric acid procedure was applied. In general, element recoveries obtained from the aqua regia procedure were superior to those obtained from nitric acid procedures and showed good agreement with the 95% confidence interval of the certified value for most of the elements investigated. Received: 27 March 1998 / Revised: 29 June 1998 / Accepted: 3 July 1998     

万宁小海表层沉积物中重金属物质的空间分布特征及生态风险分析

为了解万宁小海海域表层沉积物重金属污染状况,2020年5月在小海潟湖采集18个沉积物样品,采用电感耦合等离子体质谱法（ICP-MS）同时测定5种重金属含量,采用原子荧光光度计测定总汞和砷,并分析归纳出重金属分布特征。采用Hakanson的潜在生态风险指数法识别小海表层沉积物潜在生态风险程度,以及运用富集系数和地累积法进一步评价小海表层沉积物重金属的污染程度。结果表明：Cu、Pb、Zn、Cd、Cr、Hg和As含量平均值分别为7.26 mg/kg、27.08 mg/kg、75.06 mg/kg、0.16 mg/kg、38.43 mg/kg、0.054 mg/kg、4.66 mg/kg,均符合第一类海洋沉积物质量标准。7种元素的潜在生态风险程度依序为Hg＞Cd＞Pb＞As＞Cu＞Cr＞Zn,其中Hg和Cd为主要潜在生态危害因子,其综合潜在生态风险等级已达到中等级风险;富集系数评价和地质累积系数评价污染程度依次为：Cd＞Hg＞Pb＞Zn＞Cr＞As＞Cu;表层沉积物中TOC 含量与 Cu、Pb、Zn、Cd 和 Cr 含量具存在显著正相关,与粒度呈一定的负相关。     

Sorption of heavy metals in cationic and anionic forms by SKS synthetic carbons modified with nitrogen and sulfur

Data on the sorbability of ions of heavy metals (lead, cobalt, cadmium, zinc, copper, nickel) from Ringer’s solution with complex composition by untreated SKS synthetic carbons and those modified with nitrogen and sulfur were obtained. Exploratory studies of the sorption of complex anions of copper and iron with complexing ligands (Cl and CN) were performed. Selectivity series of toxic metals were determined on the basis of their calculated distribution coefficients. It was shown that the best sorption effect is due to the presence of nitrogen atoms and strongly acidic SO₃H groups in the carbon structure.     

Problems with the determination of heavy metals in precipitation

Summary Wet deposition is mostly determined by collecting precipitation in wet-only collectors equipped with funnels or buckets. During an intercomparison of wet-only collectors it has been found by preliminary experiments that appreciable amounts of heavy metals are adsorbed to the PE-funnel walls. Rinsing with HNO₃ and double-distilled water (equivalent height) was not sufficient to remove the material completely. From an investigation of succeeding measurements of rain water samples an increase of the metal concentration with decreasing pH-value demonstrates that a fraction of adsorbed metals appears to be removed during events with low pH. This adsorbed amount of material has to be considered as part of wet deposition and a procedure has to be developed how this amount can be determined reliably. The amounts of heavy metals analysed during our preliminary rinsing experiments was several times larger than the average concentration measured in the precipitation samples.     

Microbiological analysis of seawater and sediments in urban shorelines: Occurrence of heavy metals resistance bacteria on Chennai beaches, Bay of Bengal

The present study aims to evaluate the microbial diversity of bacteria, fungi and other pathogenic microorganisms present in seawater and sediments from Chennai shoreline (southeast coast of India).Chennai beaches are heavily polluted with untreated sewage effluents; municipal sewage disposal and recreational activities. Seawater was heavily contaminated with coliforms, Vibrio and Pseudomonas compare to sediment microbial contamination. Isolated bacteria are mostly pathogenic microorganisms including Vibrio, Pseudomonas, Coliforms, Salmonella and Shigella. Another potential environmental threat noticed was heavy metal resistance of these pathogenic strains against 50 mM of Ni, Cr, Cu, Co, Pb and Hg. Statistical analyses revealed that the Chennai coast may cause health risk to the recreational users and fisher folk, ultimately warrants environmental quality management to control microbial contamination     

Simultaneous voltammetric determination of toxic metals in sediments

Voltammetric methods are very suitable, versatile and rapid techniques for the simultaneous metal determination in complex matrices. The work, regarding the determination of As(III), Se(IV) and Mn(II), is a very interesting example of the possibility for simultaneously determining each single element in real samples in a wide range of concentration ratios. The differential pulse (DPV) measurements were carried out using a conventional three-electrode cell, while ammonia-ammonium chloride buffer (pH 9.6) was employed as the supporting electrolyte. The analytical procedure was verified by the analyses of standard reference materials: estuarine sediment BCR-CRM 277 and river sediment BCR-CRM 320. Precision and accuracy, expressed as relative S.D. and relative error, respectively, were in all cases of the order of 3-5%, while the detection limit for each element was around 10(-8) M. The standard addition technique improved the resolution of the voltammetric method, even in the case of very high element concentration ratios.