Metal Pollution Indices of Bottom Sediment and Surface Water Affected by Acid Mine Drainage

Abstract

Sediments are normally the final pathway of both natural and anthropogenic components produced or derived from the environment. Sediment quality is a good indicator of pollution in the water column, where heavy metals and other organic pollutants tend to concentrate. Metals are introduced in aquatic systems as a result of the weathering of soils and rocks, from volcanic eruptions, and from a variety of human activities involving the mining, processing, or use of metals and/or substances that contain metal pollutants. Heavy metal concentration in the water column can be relatively low in some cases, but the concentrations in the sediment may be elevated. The presented work aimed to investigate the pollutant levels of some heavy metals (Fe, Mn, Al, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, Pb) in the water and sediments related to acid mine drainage (AMD) produced from an abandoned sulphide mine in Smolnik in Eastern Slovakia. A metal pollution index was used to compare the total content of metals at five sampling stations. The level of partitioning of the metals between the surface water and sediments in the area was calculated using Partition coefficients and the correlation coefficients between the metal pairs in both media were calculated by a Pearson coefficient.

Distribution Coefficient and Metal Pollution Index in Water and Sediments: Proposal of a New Index for Ecological Risk Assessment of Metals

“…MPI represents the geometric mean concentration of metals in a given compartment of the water body, either water, sediments, or both; K d indicates the compartment where individual metals are contained. When used together, these two parameters support risk assessment for the aquatic biota [5,10,16,18,22,23].…”

“…In addition to human intervention on the Lake of Texcoco, Solonchak soils are natural sources of metals such as Fe, Mn, Cr, and Zn [28]. Therefore, the Lake of Texcoco, in its current state, represents a study model to monitor the presence of metals and the compartments where these are contained; in addition, a few studies have addressed metal pollution using both indices (MPI and K d ) [5] in temperate-but not in tropical-water bodies. This study aims to evaluate the concentration of metals in five water bodies of the Lake of Texcoco system, Mexico, using the MPI in water and sediments, and calculating the distribution coefficient.…”

“…Metal pollution is a global environmental issue [1], being one of the most serious and conspicuous problems in water bodies [2][3][4][5]. In fact, the world currently faces complex water management challenges associated with an increasing human population and a changing climate [6].…”

“…This index allows determining the phase (liquid or solid) where metals predominate, negatively affecting either free-swimming or benthic organisms. Log(K d MPI ) values indicated that metals occur primarily in the liquid phase in all lakes studied.Water 2020, 12, 29 2 of 20 of metals derived from anthropogenic sources such as urban, agricultural, and industrial areas are discharged into aquatic environments [5], then transported through the water column and accumulated in sediments, thus posing an ecological risk to benthic organisms, fish, and other aquatic organisms, and ultimately affecting humans [8,12].Lakes are among the most vulnerable and fragile aquatic ecosystems, because they function as sinks for a wide range of dissolved and particulate substances [13]. Sediments are essential components of lakes, providing food for benthic organisms and accumulating multiple pollutants such as pesticides; additionally, sediments are the most important reservoirs of metals in aquatic systems [1,10,14].…”

“…Water 2020, 12, 29 2 of 20 of metals derived from anthropogenic sources such as urban, agricultural, and industrial areas are discharged into aquatic environments [5], then transported through the water column and accumulated in sediments, thus posing an ecological risk to benthic organisms, fish, and other aquatic organisms, and ultimately affecting humans [8,12].…”