title: Ecological risk assessment of heavy metals in sediment in the upper reach of the Yangtze River.
abstract: Heavy metal pollution in China's Yangtze River basin has been of high concern. The concentrations of heavy metals (Cr, Cd, Hg, Cu, Zn, Pb, and As) in the sediment were investigated in the upper reaches of the river, China. Sediment quality guidelines (SQGs), an enrichment factor (EF), an index of geo-accumulation (I geo), and potential ecological risk were used to evaluate the extent of contamination from the heavy metal concentrations in the sediment. Among the seven metals, a noticeable degree of pollution was seen only in the case of Cd and Cd posed a considerable ecological risk at some sample sites. The Pearson correlation analysis was implemented to determine the relationships among the heavy metals, and principal component analysis (PCA) was performed to determine the most common pollution sources. The elements As, Cd, Pb, and Zn were grouped together, and the anthropogenic sources of these heavy metals were closely related. The sites with higher Cd concentrations were mainly confined to the river's reach near industrial areas. Controlling the pollution sources will effectively reduce the pollutant concentrations in the sediment.
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Water and Sediment Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China. yiyujun@bnu.edu.cn.|State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China. yiyujun@bnu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Yu-Jun
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.affiliation: State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.
authors.forename: Cai-Hong
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Renewable Energy School, North China Electric Power University, Beijing, 102206, China.
authors.forename: Shang-Hong
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D008628:Mercury / Q000032:analysis; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D008628:Mercury
keywords: Ecological risk; Enrichment factor; Freshwater sediments; Geo-accumulation index; Heavy metal; Yangtze River