title: Spatiotemporal characteristics of organic contaminant concentrations and ecological risk assessment in the Songhua River, China.
abstract: To control source pollution and improve water quality, an understanding of the spatiotemporal characteristics of organic contaminant concentrations in affected receiving waters is necessary. The Songhua River in northeast China is the country's third-largest domestic river and loadings of organic contaminants along an industrialized section have made it the focal point of a national pollution reduction plan. In addition to water quality issues, management of the Songhua River basin must also address local economic development, aquatic ecosystem sustainability and political relationships with Russia. In three periods spanning 2006 to 2010, eight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and eight phenols were measured in surface waters at ten monitoring sites along the river. A generalized linear model (GLM) was used to characterize water quality at different sites and time periods. Chemical concentrations of the organic compounds showed significant sinusoidal seasonal patterns and the concentrations declined significantly from 2006 to 2010, possibly due to management practices designed to control water pollution. A critical body residue analysis showed that water concentrations measured during the winter of 2007 across all monitoring sites, but especially at S1-Shaokou and S2-Songhuajiangcun, presented a high risk for fish species. The spatiotemporal characteristics of water quality and estimated ecological risks shown here add to the body of knowledge to develop policies on industrial output and pollution management strategies for the Songhua River basin.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control & Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, P. R. China. wangce@nju.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Ce
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Ecosystems Research Division, National Exposure Research Laboratory, Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, USA. cyterski.mike@epa.gov.
authors.forename: Mike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cyterski
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, No. 73 Huanghe Road, Nangang District, Harbin 150090, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Yujie
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, No. 73 Huanghe Road, Nangang District, Harbin 150090, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, No. 73 Huanghe Road, Nangang District, Harbin 150090, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Qingfang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical