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Levels, trends and risk assessment of arsenic pollution in Yangzonghai Lake, Yunnan Province, China

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Abstract

The arsenic contamination accident in Yangzonghai Lake, Yunnan has been of wide concern. In order to investigate the arsenic distribution and concentration trends after the accident, samples including lake water, sediments, soil, aquatic organisms and crops were collected in November 2008, as well as in February, May and September 2009. The average arsenic concentrations (arithmetic average) in lake water in the four sampling events were 176.9, 147.3, 159.3, and 161.1 μg/L, while those in the sediments were 32.87, 62.41, 62.99, and 46.96 μg/g, respectively. The highest content of total arsenic in soil in the vicinity of Yangzonghai was 23.33 μg/g, which was below the limits of the relevant national standard. The total arsenic levels in most aquatic plants were in the range of 100–200 μg/g, with Vallisneria natans (Lour.) Hara having the highest concentration of ∼300 μg/g. The arsenic levels of fish and shrimps were in the range of 1.52–11.4 μg/g (dry weight).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology; Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China

    ZhenHua Wang, Bin He, KeGang Zhang, Chang Wang, Jing Sun, ZhaoJun Yun & GuiBin Jiang

  2. School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, 650093, China

    XueJun Pan

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  1. ZhenHua Wang
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  2. Bin He
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  3. XueJun Pan
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  4. KeGang Zhang
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  5. Chang Wang
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  6. Jing Sun
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  7. ZhaoJun Yun
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Correspondence to Bin He.

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Wang, Z., He, B., Pan, X. et al. Levels, trends and risk assessment of arsenic pollution in Yangzonghai Lake, Yunnan Province, China. Sci. China Chem. 53, 1809–1817 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11426-010-4039-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11426-010-4039-3

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