Abstract
Analysis of sediment grain sizes and heavy metal correlations in the western part of Lake Taihu shows that the grain size of the sediment is stable as a whole. With increasing depth, the grain size tends to decrease. Heavy metals such as Cr, Cd, Pd and Sr are strongly correlated and influence each other. Based on the positive matrix factorization (PMF) model, this study classified the origin of heavy metals in the sediments of western Lake Taihu into three major categories: Agricultural, industrial and geogenic. The contributions of the three heavy metal sources in each sample were analyzed and calculated. Overall, prior to the Chinese economic reform, the study area mainly practiced agriculture. The sources of heavy metals in the sediments were mostly of agricultural and geogenic origin, and remained relatively stable with contribution rates of 44.07 ± 11.84% (n = 30) and 35.67 ± 11.70% (n = 30), respectively. After the reform and opening up of China, as the economy experienced rapid development, industry and agriculture became the main sources of heavy metals in sediments, accounting for 56.99 ± 15.73% (n = 15) and 31.22 ± 14.31% (n = 15), respectively. The PMF model is convenient and efficient, and a good method to determine the origin of heavy metals in sediments.
Highlights
Lake Taihu, located in Southern Jiangsu Province, is the third largest freshwater lake in China, with an area of 2338 km2, and plays a decisive role in regional and socioeconomic development.Heavy metals enter aquatic systems via surface runoff or atmospheric deposition and accumulate in sediments through the adsorption and sedimentation of suspended matter
Heavyheavy metalmetal pollution becamebecame increasingly serious. This period can be divided into two stages
± 0.7838, rapid study were mainly of geogenic agricultural origins
Summary
Lake Taihu, located in Southern Jiangsu Province, is the third largest freshwater lake in China, with an area of 2338 km , and plays a decisive role in regional and socioeconomic development. Heavy metals enter aquatic systems via surface runoff or atmospheric deposition and accumulate in sediments through the adsorption and sedimentation of suspended matter. Heavy metals are important pollutants of aquatic ecosystems because of their environmental persistence, toxicity and potential for accumulation in food chains [1,2,3,4]. Lake Taihu water flows in mainly from the west, and the environmental quality of the western part of the lake plays a crucial role in the environment of the entire lake. The sources and history of heavy metals in the sediments of West Lake Taihu are. Public Health 2018, 15, 1540; doi:10.3390/ijerph15071540 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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