title: Toxic heavy metals in sediments, seawater, and molluscs in the eastern and western coastal waters of Guangdong Province, South China.
abstract: Heavy metal concentrations and distribution were studied in sediments, seawater, and molluscs, and the possible heavy metal sources in the coastal waters of Guangdong Province, South China were discussed. The results showed that the concentrations of Cu, Pb, Zn, and Cr in sediments in eastern coastal waters were generally higher than those in the western coastal waters. However, concentrations of most metals in seawater and molluscs in western waters were higher than in the eastern waters, which was tightly related to the local economics and urbanization development, especially, the different industrial structure in two regions. The main heavy metal sources were attributed to the industrial and agricultural effluent, domestic sewage, and even waste gas. Furthermore, heavy metal contamination assessment indicated that high contamination levels of Cd, Zn, and Pb occurred in sediments in local areas, especially in the bays and harbors. The metal accumulation levels by molluscs ranked following the order of Cd > Cu > As > Zn > Pb > Cr, and the ecological risks introduced by heavy metals in different areas were in the order of Zhanjiang > Yangmao > Shantou > Shanhui.
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510301, China.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510301, China.
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510301, China.
authors.forename: Jingping
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510301, China.
authors.forename: Zhijian
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510301, China.
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510301, China. xphuang@scsio.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Xiaoping
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D000818:Animals; D061006:Bays; D002681:China; D004463:Ecology; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D008974:Mollusca; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry; D012722:Sewage; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D012722:Sewage; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Bioaccumulation; Environmental impact; Heavy metals; South China; Spatial variations