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Contamination and Ecological Risk Assessment of Long-Term Polluted Sediments with Heavy Metals in Small Hydropower Cascade

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Abstract

The identification of contamination level and ecological risks, associated with heavy metal pollution of sediments in small hydropower cascade was done on the base of index analyses approach. The concentration of As, Cd, Cu, Hg, Pb, Zn, total organic carbon and percentage of fines were determined in sediments of two habitats in cascade sequence – river and dam. Correlation and multivariate analyses suggest that As, Cu, Pb and Zn are associated with similar anthropogenic source. Cadmium and mercury originate from different source and have specific moving. Based on the contamination and background indices the sediments in Middle Iskar cascade are moderate contaminated at least and are subject of intensive hydrological and technological mixing. The potential ecological risk index (PERI) classifies the sediments in dam site with the higher risk level. Suitable indicators for express assessment of metal pollution in “river” sediments are contamination/enrichment indices which are more sensitive for local concentration increase of less toxic metals. In “dam” sites the process of sedimentation affects strongly the degree of metals accumulation and differences in toxicity are clearly presented – PER/PERI in combination with content of fine sediment fractions and TOC have a potential for rapid identification of sediment-associated risks.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the PVB Power Bulgaria and VEC Svoge for their long-standing support. The authors thank Assoc. Prof. R. Nikolaeva, PhD, L. Kenderov, PhD and E. Daskalova for their valuable contribution for this work. Comments by the anonymous reviewers also improved the presentation of this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of General and Applied Hydrobiology, Faculty of Biology, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Sofia, Bulgaria

    Yovana Todorova, Stilyana Lincheva, Ivaylo Yotinov & Yana Topalova

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  1. Yovana Todorova
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  2. Stilyana Lincheva
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  3. Ivaylo Yotinov
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  4. Yana Topalova
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Correspondence to Yovana Todorova.

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Todorova, Y., Lincheva, S., Yotinov, I. et al. Contamination and Ecological Risk Assessment of Long-Term Polluted Sediments with Heavy Metals in Small Hydropower Cascade. Water Resour Manage 30, 4171–4184 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-016-1413-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-016-1413-8

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