Abstract
Geogenic concentrations are defined as those concentrations that represent the natural background without any anthropogenic influence. The paper describes a statistical method for determining geogenic metal concentrations in rivers based on the concept of “aggregated riverine landscapes” (ARLs), which applies to all rivers in the Federal State of Saxony-Anhalt (Germany). The methodology includes the pre-selection of existing data by eliminating all sampling locations from the database which have anthropogenic influence, the GIS-based allocation of the sampling locations with respect to the respective ARL being the evaluation units, and the assessment of the geogenic background by statistical calculation of the 90th percentile. After validation of the methodology, the existing database was complemented by additional measurements for regions with data gaps. About 85,000 records of water samples, 1400 records of sediment samples, and 920 records of suspended particulate samples were used for the determination of the geogenic metal concentrations in the rivers of Saxony-Anhalt. The investigation included the parameters Al, Ag, As, B, Ba, Be, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Se, Ti, U, V, and Zn. The investigation results offer the determination of regions with increased background levels for certain metals or metalloids in Saxony-Anhalt.
Highlights
The European Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC (WFD) [1] is the basis for the integrated water policy in Europe
Anthropogenic influences are not separated from the geogenic concentrations and led to exceedance of the Environmental Quality Standards (EQS)
The influence was classified as having two levels, (a) a significant increase by >50% compared to the mean values of the geogenic background concentrations (P90), as per RL; and (b) moderate increase by >25% in comparison to the RL mean values, which are indicated in italic writing style below: calcareous-dolomitic riverine landscape: metallogenic riverine landscape: bogs and riverside meadows: saliniferous riverine landscape: sandy-clayey riverine landscape: siliceous riverine landscape: Al, B, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Se, U
Summary
The European Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC (WFD) [1] is the basis for the integrated water policy in Europe. The key objective is holistic water management at the level of river basins based on a high level of protection of the aquatic environment, reflected by a “good status” by 2015. The WFD provides a number of exemptions that allow for less stringent objectives, including the extension of the implementation deadline beyond 2015, to a maximum of 2027. One of the potential reasons for an exemption is the elevated natural background concentration of metals in comparison to the Environmental Quality Standards (EQS). Maximum permissible pollutant concentrations have been defined in Directive 2008/105/EC [2]. This Directive and the amending Directive 2013/39/EU [3]. In The New Uranium Mining Boom—Challenge and Lessons Learned; Merkel, B.J., Schipek, M., Eds.; Springer: Berlin/Heidelberg, Germany, 2011; pp. 779–788.
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