title: Heavy metal contamination of overlying waters and bed sediments of Haihe Basin in China.
abstract: The Haihe Basin is in an area of high population density and rapid economic development, and is one of the most polluted river basins in China. Examination of heavy metals (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn) in overlying waters and surface sediments in rivers was conducted in the basin's seven watersheds. Cd concentrations of overlying river waters exceeded Chinese environmental quality standard values for surface water (>0.010 mg/L) at 90% of stations. In surface river sediments, average concentrations of Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn in the basin were 0.364, 13.4, 81.9, 53.3, 435, 27.8, 20.0 and 256 mg/kg, respectively. Cd, Zn and Cu were the most anthropogenically enriched elements, as indicated by enrichment factor (EF) values>1.5; EF values were highest for these metals in the Zi Ya He (ZYH) and Zhang Wei He (ZWH) watersheds. Cd in surface river sediments showed a high potential ecological risk (PER) in the ZYH and ZWH watersheds. The comprehensive PER due to all studied metals was high at many stations, especially in the ZYH and ZWH watersheds. The results indicate that heavy metal contamination in the rivers of the Haihe Basin should be considered when developing basin management strategies for protecting the aquatic environment.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory on Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 10085, China. Electronic address: wztang@rcees.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Wenzhong
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Baoqing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Shan
authors.forename: Jingguo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cui
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D005618:Fresh Water; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000032:analysis*; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D045483:Rivers; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: BSH; Bei San He; Contamination; DQH; Da Qing He; EF; HLG; Haihe Basin; Heavy metals; Hei Long Gang; Overlying waters; PER; RAC; Surface sediments; TMH; Tu-hai Ma-xia He; YDH; Yong Ding He; ZWH; ZYH; Zhang Wei He; Zi Ya He; enrichment factor; potential ecological risk; risk assessment code