Spatial-temporal analysis of selected industrial aquatic heavy metal pollution in China

Abstract

Abstract Heavy metal pollution has become a global environmental issue. The control of industrial aquatic heavy metal emissions is especially crucial in China. This study constructed a high-resolution grid dataset (at 1 km × 1 km scale) of industrial aquatic heavy metal emissions (Hg, Cd, Cr(VI), Pb, and As) in China during 1998–2010, using a bottom-up approach. The environmental impacts of industrial aquatic heavy metal emissions, including human health impacts and ecosystem quality impacts, were estimated based on ReCiPe2016. Subsequently, the spatial-temporal characteristics of industrial aquatic heavy metal emissions and their environmental impacts were revealed at the grid scale. The results show that the top 10% of grids with the largest environmental impacts contributed over 85% of the total environmental impacts, but only 40%–45% of the total industrial outputs during 2000–2010. The areas with large environmental impacts were mainly located in the Pearl River Delta, the Yangtze River Delta, and Hunan Province in 2010. A reduction in the impact intensities of the five major polluting sectors in the top 10% of the grids to the average sectoral level could decrease the human health impacts by 44% and the ecosystem quality impacts by 41%. The grid dataset can provide detailed information on the spatial distribution of industrial aquatic heavy metal emissions that can be used to refine aquatic heavy metal pollution control in China. It can also be used to analyze the environmental impacts and socioeconomic drivers of industrial aquatic heavy metal emissions.