Ecological Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Sediment and Human Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Fishes In

See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/51488871 Ecological Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Sediment and Human Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Fishes in... Article in Environmental Pollution · July 2011 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2011.06.011 · Source: PubMed CITATIONS READS 298 2,700 3 authors, including: Yu-Jun Yi Shanghong Zhang Beijing Normal University North China Electric Power University 31 PUBLICATIONS 656 CITATIONS 29 PUBLICATIONS 439 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects: Evolution Mechanism of the Ecohydrological Processes in Shallow Macrophysic Lakes and Its Integrated Regulation Framework View project All content following this page was uploaded by Yu-Jun Yi on 05 February 2015. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. All in-text references underlined in blue are added to the original document and are linked to publications on ResearchGate, letting you access and read them immediately. This article appeared in a journal published by Elsevier. The attached copy is furnished to the author for internal non-commercial research and education use, including for instruction at the authors institution and sharing with colleagues. Other uses, including reproduction and distribution, or selling or licensing copies, or posting to personal, institutional or third party websites are prohibited. In most cases authors are permitted to post their version of the article (e.g. in Word or Tex form) to their personal website or institutional repository. Authors requiring further information regarding Elsevier’s archiving and manuscript policies are encouraged to visit: http://www.elsevier.com/copyright Author's personal copy Environmental Pollution 159 (2011) 2575e2585 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Environmental Pollution journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/envpol Ecological risk assessment of heavy metals in sediment and human health risk assessment of heavy metals in fishes in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River basin Yujun Yi a, Zhifeng Yang a,*, Shanghong Zhang b a State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China b Renewable Energy School, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China article info abstract Article history: The concentrations of heavy metals (Cr, Cd, Hg, Cu, Zn, Pb and As) in the water, sediment, and fish were Received 1 August 2010 investigated in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, China. Potential ecological risk Received in revised form analysis of sediment heavy metal concentrations indicated that six sites in the middle reach, half of the 18 January 2011 sites in the lower reach, and two sites in lakes, posed moderate or considerable ecological risk. Health Accepted 6 June 2011 risk analysis of individual heavy metals in fish tissue indicated safe levels for the general population and for fisherman but, in combination, there was a possible risk in terms of total target hazard quotients. Keywords: Correlation analysis and PCA found that heavy metals (Hg, Cd, Pb, Cr, Cu, and Zn) may be mainly derived Heavy metal Ecological risk from metal processing, electroplating industries, industrial wastewater, and domestic sewage. Hg may fi Sediment also originate from coal combustion. Signi cant positive correlations between TN and As were observed. Health risk Crown Copyright Ó 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Fish Yangtze River 1. Introduction indirectly toxic to the aquatic flora and fauna. The effects of pollutants may also be detected on land as a result of their bio- The rapid development of industry and agriculture has resulted accumulation and bio-concentration in the food web (Wu et al., in increasing pollution by heavy metals, which are a significant 2005; Zhang and Ke, 2004). Consequently, an analysis of the environmental hazard for invertebrates, fish, and humans distribution of heavy metals in sediments adjacent to populated (Uluturhan and Kucuksezgin, 2007). Significant quantities of heavy areas could be used to investigate anthropogenic impacts on metals are discharged into rivers, which can be strongly accumu- ecosystems and would assist in the assessment of risks posed by lated and biomagnified along water, sediment, and aquatic food human waste discharges (Hu et al., 2002; de Mora et al., 2004; chain, resulting in sublethal effects or death in local fish pop- Zheng et al., 2008). ulations (Megeer et al., 2000; Jones et al., 2001; Almeida et al., Under certain conditions, these metals may accumulate to 2002; Xu et al., 2004). Suspended sediments adsorb pollutants a toxic concentration level which may lead to ecological damage from the water, thus lowering their concentration in the water (Jefferies and Freestone, 1984). Methods used to evaluate the column. Heavy metals are inert in the sediment environment and ecological risk posed by heavy metals in sediments include calcu- are often considered to be conservative pollutants (Wilcock, 1999; lation of the index of geo-accumulation (Porstner, 1989), the Olivares-Rieumont et al., 2005) although they may be released potential ecological risk index (Håkanson, 1980), and the excess into the water column in response to certain disturbances (Agarwal after regression analysis (ERA) (Hilton et al., 1985), among which et al., 2005), causing potential threat to ecosystems (Chow et al., the first two indices are the most popular. 2005; Hope, 2006). Bottom sediments also provide habitats and Several methods have been proposed for estimation of the a food source for benthic fauna. Thus, pollutants may be directly or potential risks to human health of heavy metals in fishes. The risks may be divided into carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic effects. For carcinogenic contaminants, the observed or predicted exposure * Corresponding author. concentrations are compared with thresholds for adverse effects, as E-mail address: [email protected] (Z. Yang). determined by dose-effect relationships (Solomon et al., 1996). The 0269-7491/$ e see front matter Crown Copyright Ó 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2011.06.011 Author's personal copy 2576 Y. Yi et al. / Environmental Pollution 159 (2011) 2575e2585 probability risk assessment technique has been adopted by collected from the main river and lakes in the Yangtze River basin at 17 sites in the a number of researchers (Solomon et al., 1996; Giesy et al., 1999; middle reach and from 10 sites in the lower reach, in 2007 (Fig. 1). The middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, with many bends, are Cardwell et al., 1999; Hall et al., 2000; Wang et al., 2002) to fully connected with many lakes. This region, referred to as the “Water Realm” is China’s utilize available exposure and toxicity data. However, these major agricultural district. Several large and medium-sized cities are distributed methods have only been used to quantify the health risks of along the river, forming a prosperous industrial belt. In contrast to the wide plains of carcinogenic pollutants. Current non-cancer risk assessment the middle reach, the downstream plains alongside the river are long and narrow. methods do not provide quantitative estimates of the probability of Jianghan Plain lies in the north of the middle reach, while Dongting Plain and Poyang Plain are situated in the south. Between Hukou and Zhenjiang, a narrow alluvial experiencing non-cancer effects from contaminant exposure. These plain extends on both sides of the main river. Along the middle and lower reaches of methods typically are based on the Target Hazard Quotient (THQ). the Yangtze River, the river channel flows slowly and the plain alternates between Although the THQ-based risk assessment method does not wide and narrow. Below Datong station, tidal influences prevail, the flow becomes provide a quantitative estimate of the probability of an exposed slower, and sediment deposition is enhanced. population experiencing an adverse health effect, it does provide an indication of the risk level associated with pollutant exposure. This 2.2. Sample collection and analysis method of risk estimation has recently been used by many 2.2.1. Field sampling researchers (Chien et al., 2002; Wang et al., 2005) and has been Water, sediment, fish, and crayfish samples were collected from 27 sites in the shown to be valid and useful. This non-cancer risk assessment middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River watershed. Twelve sites were located method was also applied in this study. in the middle reach of the main river, nine were in the lower reach, and six were in lakes in the middle and lower reaches (Fig. 1). In total, 27 water and sediment In recent years, water pollution in the Yangtze River basin, samples and 469 fish samples were collected. associated with industrial and economic development, has attrac- Water samples were collected at the surface in 40 mL acid-washed polyethylene ted increasing attention. More than 25 billion tons of wastewater sample bottles, taking care not to incorporate sediment into the samples. The are discharged annually into the Yangtze River, from industrial and samples were acidified with 10 mL of 1:1 nitric acid:deionized water. Sediment and fi fi mining enterprises, and from the sewage of nearby cities. The sh samples were collected into pre-cleaned polyethylene bags. Fish and cray sh were collected by seine. To obtain a suitable mass of material for analysis, the soft majority (80%) of wastewater and sewage discharged into the tissues from 1e18 individual crayfish were dissected, drained of excess liquid and Yangtze River basin is untreated. Sixty percent of the length of the stored in plastic bottles. For fish, 100e300 g of dorsal muscle from a single individual main river channel of the Yangtze River is affected by pollution and was dissected. All samples were frozen and stored at À18 C immediately upon fi this is particularly widespread in the middle and lower reaches, returning from the eld.

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