Geomorphological assessment of sediment contamination in an urban stream system

Rhoads, Bruce L.; Cahill, Richard A.

doi:10.1016/s0883-2927(98)00061-4

Cited by 81 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…None of the particle size fractions or the specific surface area (SSA) of the sediments demonstrate a significant relationship with any of the selected metal(loid)s. This is counter to many of the trends reported in the literature where a decrease in particle size is shown to increase contaminant loadings Horowitz and Elrick 1987;Walling and Woodward 1992;Borovec et al 1993;Rhoads and Cahill 1999;Devesa-Rey et al 2011). Our findings are consistent with those reported by Moore et al (1989) and Bertin and Bourg (1995).…”

Section: Particle Size Controls On Sediment-associated Metal(loid)ssupporting

confidence: 65%

Metal contamination of bed sediments in the Irwell and Upper Mersey catchments, northwest England: exploring the legacy of industry and urban growth

2017

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Purpose Manchester is often heralded as the first industrial city. Large volumes of physical and liquid contaminants were released into its river network throughout the industrial period up to the latter part of the twentieth century. Water quality has improved dramatically in recent decades, but, given their environmental significance, it is important to ascertain the extent to which a legacy of contamination persists in the modern bed sediments. Materials and methods Fine-grained bed sediments were sampled at 40 sites in the Mersey and Irwell catchments. Sediments were wet sieved to isolate the <63-μm grain size fraction. Metal concentrations were determined using XRF. Particle size characteristics were also measured. Sediments were subjected to a five-step sequential extraction procedure to ascertain the environmental significance of metal concentrations. Alongside archival research of past industry, enrichment factors, multivariate statistical techniques and conditional inferences trees were used to identify sources of heavy metals. Results and discussion Bed sediment-associated heavy metal(-loid) concentrations were as follows: As (9.89-110 mg kg −1 ), Cr (76.5-413 mg kg −1 ), Cu (53.1-383 mg kg −1 ), Pb (80.4-442 mg kg −1 ) and Zn (282-1020 mg kg −1 ). Enrichment factors ranged from moderate to extremely severe, with Pb showing the greatest enrichment across the catchments. Chemical mobility was generally low, but metal(loid) partitioning identified the influence of anthropogenic sources. Statistical analysis highlighted a number of point sources associated with former industrial sites that operated during the industrial period. Conditional inference trees highlighted the role of the textile industry on Cu concentrations in addition to indicating the complexity of sources, fluxes and stores of sediment-associated contamination throughout the system. Conclusions Fine-grained sediment-associated metal(loid)s in the Mersey and Irwell catchments are anthropogenically enriched. Concentrations also exceed sediment quality guidelines. A lack of distinct spatial patterning points to a complex network of contaminant inputs across the catchments, even in the headwaters. Whilst potential modern urban sources are likely to be important, spatial patterns and multivariate/data mining techniques also highlighted the importance of releases from former industrial sites as well as the reworking of historically contaminated floodplains and soils.

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Section: Particle Size Controls On Sediment-associated Metal(loid)ssupporting

confidence: 65%

Metal contamination of bed sediments in the Irwell and Upper Mersey catchments, northwest England: exploring the legacy of industry and urban growth

2017

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“…Due to their high cationic exchange and adsorption capacity, numerous studies in sediments have focused on the <63 μm fraction. For example, Ni, Pb, Rb, Sr, Cr and Nb frequently have been found concentrated in the <63 μm fraction (Rhoads and Cahill 1999;Ranashinghe et al 2002;Singh et al 2003). Also, studies about the sediment geochemistry or metal bioavailability (Langston et al 1999;Stecko and BendellYoung 2000;Sanchiz et al 2001;Lu et al 2005) or about anthropogenic pollution (Ujevic et al 2000;Morillo et al 2002;Soto-Jiménez et al 2003;Glasby et al 2004) have considered this fraction.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of enrichment factors and grain size influence on the metal distribution in riverbed sediments (Anllóns River, NW Spain)

Rey¹,

Dı́az-Fierros²,

Barral³

2010

Environ Monit Assess

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The metals distribution in the bed sediments of the Anllóns River was studied, with special emphasis on the evaluation of the metal distribution as a function of the granulometric fraction chosen for the analysis. Statistical significant differences between the distribution of K, Ca, Cr, Mn, As, Rb, Sr and Nb in the bulk (<2 mm) and fine fraction (<63 μm) were not found. Fe, Ni, Cu, Ga, Zr, Zn and Pb commonly appear in higher concentrations in the fine fraction, whereas Ti appears in higher concentrations in the bulk fraction. In general, it was observed that contamination phenomena tend to equalise the concentrations of both fractions, and this was mainly explained as the result of two processes. First, the formation of coatings over sands and, second, the formation of large aggregates (pseudo-sands) at sites located over basic rocks, whose chemical behaviour is closer to that of clays and could be responsible for significant adsorption processes. Normalisation techniques to evaluate contamination were applied by testing Nb, Sr, Rb or Ga as normaliser elements and by using crustal or shale average values for background concentrations. The most satisfactory result was obtained when using shale average values and Ga as the normaliser element. Arsenic was identified as the main contaminant of the basin, exceeding in all cases the low-effect reference values proposed by sediment quality guidelines and in two cases the medium-effect reference values. These sites were identified by multivariate techniques, which allow differentiating site 10 as affected by anthropogenic inputs related to past mining activities.

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“…Patchy areas of higher concentration may be associated with specifi c urban sources such as storm sewer outfalls (see, for example, Foster et al . 1996 ;Rhoads & Cahill 1999 ). Table 5.1 c summarizes the concentrations of contaminants found in some studies of urban rivers and streams.…”

Section: The C Haracteristics Of U Rban S Edimentmentioning

confidence: 99%