Abstract
The concentration of potential toxic elements (PTEs) in the Upper Crocodile river catchment area in North-west Province, South Africa, was investigated. Water and sediment samples were collected among different land uses in the upper Crocodile River catchment area and analysed using inductively-coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (ICP–MS). Several guidelines were used to gauge the level of contamination and possible toxic effect of PTEs. The physicochemical analysis showed that electrical conductivity (EC), pH, and total dissolved solids (TDS) values complied with the recommended values of Department of Water and Forestry (DWAF) guidelines for South Africa. The average concentration of Cu, Pb, Cd, Zn, As, Cr, Al, and Mn in the water samples were lower than the recommended levels for water-quality guidelines for aquatic environments except for Fe, which exceeded the recommended values of DWAF of 0.1 mg/L and EPA (US) of 0.3 mg/L. The level of contamination was measured using the enrichment factor, contamination factor, and geoaccumulation index. The level of Cr was above the stipulated threshold limit of the sediment quality guideline for adverse biological effects, suggesting an ecotoxicology risk of anthropogenic origin, which was confirmed by statistical analysis. The non-point sources of PTEs are spatially distributed according to land-use types and are strongly correlated to land use.
Highlights
The quest for rapid economic growth through industrialisation has had a negative impact on receiving river systems [1]
Different studies have demonstrated that mining, industrial processing and agro-chemicals such as fertilizers and metal-based pesticides, which are toxic to human health, are the main sources of potential toxic element (PTE) concentrations in the environment [3,4,5]
As, Cr, Al, Mn and Fe were not reported in the study by Sumerset et al [23] but their analysis in this study showed a significant difference between the average concentration of Cr, Al, Mn and Fe in the Mvudi River and in the Crocodile River, except for As which was below the detection limit but was not available in the Mvudi River
Summary
The quest for rapid economic growth through industrialisation has had a negative impact on receiving river systems [1]. Anthropogenic activities like agriculture, mining and urbanization have been shown to have a negative impact in flowing rivers resulting in degradable aquatic ecosystems and habitats [2]. Different studies have demonstrated that mining, industrial processing and agro-chemicals such as fertilizers and metal-based pesticides, which are toxic to human health, are the main sources of potential toxic element (PTE) concentrations in the environment [3,4,5]. Apart from naturally occurring metals in the environments, anthropogenic activities have accelerated the rate of toxic metal concentrations in freshwater over the last decades
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