Heavy metal characterization of river sediment in Hanoi, Vietnam

Abstract

Industrial and municipal waste water is directly discharged to rivers in Hanoi, Vietnam. Sediments were collected from different sites of three rivers in the industrialized and densely‐populated area of Hanoi City and examined for total heavy metals and metal fractions using sequential extraction. Concentration of the total heavy metals ranged from the background levels to over the maximum permissible levels to crop growth. Concentrations of cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn) ranged from 0.27 to 4.50,78 to 517, 37 to 309, 37 to 174, 43 to 361, and 93 to 4,950 mg kg‐1, respectively. Total concentration of heavy metals varied from site to site and tended to be higher in the site where manufacturing companies are located. Heavy metals were accumulated in the site and were not moved away to be redistributed in the whole area. Distribution of heavy metals in different chemical forms in the air‐dry state depended on their total concentration. In the low concentration range, Cr, Cu, Ni, and Zn were for the most part concentrated in the residual fraction. When concentration is equal to or above the maximum permissible level to crop growth, Cr, Ni, and Zn were mostly concentrated in the iron‐manganese (Fe‐Mn) oxides fraction and Cu was in the organic fraction. Irrespective of the total concentration, Cd was highly associated with the exchangeable and carbonate fractions, while the sum of the Fe‐Mn oxides and residual fractions accounted for 80 to 96% of total Pb.