| Title |
Contamination Assessment of Surface Sediments in Urban Rivers, Busan |
| Authors |
곽진숙 ( Jin-suk Kwag ) ; 손정원 ( Jung-won Son ) ; 김주인 ( Chu-In Kim ) ; 송복주 ( Bok-Joo Song ) |
| DOI |
https://doi.org/10.15681/KSWE.2021.37.4.296 |
| Keywords |
Geoaccumulation(Igeo); Heavy metal; Pollution load index(PLI); Potential ecological risk index(RI); Surface sediment |
| Abstract |
This work investigated heavy metal pollution in surface sediments of rivers in Busan, Korea. Surface sediments were analyzed in order to conduct contamination assessment of organic matter, nutrients, and heavy metal concentrations. Contamination assessment of heavy metals was conducted using geoaccumulation index (Igeo), pollution load index (PLI), and potential ecological risk index (RI). Accumulation of organic matter and nutrients were affected by water discharged from sewage treatment plant. The concentrations of organic matter and nutrients were found to be greater in points which were close to the sewage treatment plant more than points furthest. The concentrations of Pb, Zn, Cu, Cd, Hg, As, Cr, and Ni were found to be greater in surface sediment more than in the background. The mean concentrations of heavy metals were in the order of Zn (323.5 mg/kg) > Cu (70.5 mg/kg) > Pb (39.8 mg/kg) > Cr (33.4 mg/kg) > Ni (13.5 mg/kg) > As (9.4 mg/kg) > Cd (0.84 mg/kg) > Hg (0.092 mg/kg). The result of geoaccumulation indices indicated that Hg > Cr > Cu > Ni > Zn > As > Pb > Cd were found in order of severe contamination by heavy metals. From PLI and RI analysis, it was evident that the Suyeonggang 2 was the most contaminated river. |