Pollution status, Source, and health risk of heavy metals in water from Haihe River, China

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shitao Peng

Thursday 2 july 2015

17:57 - 18:00h at Asia (level 0)

Themes: (T) Hydro-environment, (ST) Impacts of pollutants on the water environment, Poster pitches

Parallel session: Poster pitches: 13G. Environment - Impact

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Five heavy metals (As, Cr, Cu, Hg, and Pb) were determined in the water from the Haihe River in China between 2001 and 2010. The temporal variations in five metals concentrations generally decreased from 2001 to 2010. Results of principal component analysis (PCA) showed that Cr6+and Pb were derived from rock-derived and industrial wastewater, while As, Hg, and Cu was atmospheric deposition and industrial sewage originated. The health risks caused by metals in water were assessed by model recommended by the US Environmental Protection Agency. The health risk showed both the non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks were decreased from 2000 to 2010. However, the non-carcinogenic risk exceeded 1 and carcinogenic risk were more than 1×10-5 in each years, indicating that there were non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks in water from Haihe River. Arsenic was the most important contributor to both non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks in the present study. In particular, both Cr6+ and As all exhibited a carcinogenic risk above the acceptable or tolerable risk level in each years, indicating that long term exposure to such water can lead to cancer. Therefore, it is very important to control coal combustion and industrial sewage discharge for removing Cr6+ and As in the water to minimize risks.