Persistent thallium contamination in river sediments, source apportionment and environmental implications

Nuo Li; Yuchen Zhou; Juan Liu; Daniel C W Tsang; Jin Wang; Jingye She; Yuting Zhou; Meiling Yin; Zirong Chen; Diyun Chen

doi:10.1016/j.ecoenv.2020.110874

Persistent thallium contamination in river sediments, source apportionment and environmental implications

Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2020 Oct 1:202:110874. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2020.110874. Epub 2020 Jun 30.

Authors

Nuo Li¹, Yuchen Zhou¹, Juan Liu², Daniel C W Tsang³, Jin Wang⁴, Jingye She¹, Yuting Zhou¹, Meiling Yin¹, Zirong Chen¹, Diyun Chen⁵

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Water Quality and Conservation in the Pearl River Delta, Ministry of Education, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Radionuclides Pollution Control and Resources, Institute of Environmental Research at Greater Bay, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
² Key Laboratory of Water Quality and Conservation in the Pearl River Delta, Ministry of Education, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Radionuclides Pollution Control and Resources, Institute of Environmental Research at Greater Bay, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 510006, China; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
³ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Water Quality and Conservation in the Pearl River Delta, Ministry of Education, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Radionuclides Pollution Control and Resources, Institute of Environmental Research at Greater Bay, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 510006, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Radionuclides Pollution Control and Resources, Guangzhou, 510006, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁵ Key Laboratory of Water Quality and Conservation in the Pearl River Delta, Ministry of Education, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Radionuclides Pollution Control and Resources, Institute of Environmental Research at Greater Bay, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 510006, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Radionuclides Pollution Control and Resources, Guangzhou, 510006, China.

PMID: 32619890
DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2020.110874

Abstract

The adverse impacts of detrimental thallium (Tl) contamination are of increasing concerns to sustainable development. Herein, the contents, distributions and sources of Tl and potential toxic elements (PTEs) (Pb, As, Cr, Cu, Ni, Co, Sb, Cd and U) were investigated in sediments collected in Gaofeng River, which has been contaminated by long-term mining activities, located in Yunfu City, Southern China. Results indicated that excessive Tl levels were found in sediments (1.80-16.70 mg/kg). Sequential extraction procedure indicated that despite a large amount of Tl entrapped in residual fraction, a significant level of Tl (0.28-2.34 mg/kg) still exhibited in geochemically labile fractions, which was easy for Tl mobilization and availability. Pb isotope tracing method further confirmed that the pyrite exploitations may be the prime contaminated contributor (47-76%) to these sediments. These findings highlight that it is essential to establish more effective measures for Tl contamination control and call for engineered remediation countermeasures towards polluted river sediments.

Keywords: Pyrite mine; Sediment quality index; Source identification; Thallium contamination.

MeSH terms

China
Cities
Environmental Monitoring*
Environmental Pollution
Geologic Sediments / chemistry
Iron
Isotopes
Metals, Heavy / analysis
Mining
Rivers / chemistry
Sulfides
Thallium / analysis*
Water Pollutants, Chemical / analysis*

Substances

Isotopes
Metals, Heavy
Sulfides
Water Pollutants, Chemical
pyrite
Thallium
Iron