Metal contamination and solid phase partitioning of metals in the stream and bottom sediments in a reservoir receiving mine drainage

Abstract

This study was conducted to assess the anthropogenic impact on metal concentrations in the bottom sediments of the Juam reservoir, Korea, and in stream sediments in its catchment, and to estimate the potential mobility of selected metals (Fe, Mn, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn) using sequential extraction. A comparison of the metal concentrations in the stream sediments with mean background values in sediments collected from first- or second-order creeks shows that Pb, Cu and Ni are the most affected by anthropogenic inputs. The 206Pb/207Pb ratios of the bottom and core sediments (means: 1.2320±0.0502 and 1.2212±0.0040, respectively) suggest that Pb contamination is mainly due to the waste discharge of abandoned coal and metal mines rather than industrial and airborne sources. Considering the proportion of metals bound to the exchangeable, carbonate and reducible fractions, the comparative mobility of metals is suggested to decrease in the order Mn>Pb>Zn>Ni>Fe≫Cu.