Toxic metals in aquatic plants surviving in surface water polluted by copper mining industry

Abstract

Concentrations of the metals Al, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, V, and Zn, as well as the macronutrients N, P, K, Ca, Mg, and S were measured in water, sediments, and the aquatic macrophytes Potamogeton pectinatus and Myriophyllum spicatum, growing in surface water receiving sewages and solid wastes from a copper smelter and a copper ore processing factory located in the Legnica-Glogow copper district in Southwest Poland. The deposition of mineral wastes in this area belong to the largest repository in Europe. The plants were able to survive at heavily contaminated sites. The concentrations of Cd (up to 0.6–1.7 μg/L in water and up to 10.1–12.9 mg/kg in sediments), Cu (up to 29–48 μg/L in water and up to 4.6–5.6 g/kg in sediments), Pb (up to 1.5–2.2 g/kg in sediments), and Zn (up to 167–200 μg/L in water and up to 1.4–1.8 g/kg in sediments) seriously exceeded background values. P. pectinatus was able to survive tissue concentrations (in mg/kg) of up to 920 Cu, 6240 Mn, 98 Co, and 59 Ni, while M. spicatum survived tissue concentrations up to 1040 Cu, 6660 Mn, and 57 Co for. Enrichment ratios of elements in plant tissue and in water were much higher than those between plant tissue and sediments.