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Ecological Risks of Metal and Metalloid Contamination in the Rio Doce Estuary
Author(s) -
Gabriel Fabrício A,
Silva André G,
Queiroz Hermano M,
Ferreira Tiago O,
HauserDavis Rachel A,
Bernardino Angelo F
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
integrated environmental assessment and management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.665
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1551-3793
pISSN - 1551-3777
DOI - 10.1002/ieam.4250
Subject(s) - estuary , contamination , environmental science , sediment , pollution , water quality , metalloid , tailings , environmental chemistry , trace metal , environmental protection , ecology , metal , geology , chemistry , biology , paleontology , organic chemistry
The rupture of a mining dam in southeastern Brazil in 2015 was the country's greatest environmental tragedy. In order to evaluate the ecological risks of the mine tailings on the Rio Doce estuary, this study assessed trace metal contamination and sediment quality indices up to 2.9 y after the dam rupture. Surface sediments were collected from 17 stations on the Rio Doce estuary and Cd, Pb, Cr, Zn, Cu, and As concentrations were determined by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP‐OES). Four ecological risk indices (modified contamination degree [mCd], pollution load index [PLI], risk index [RI], and sediment quality guideline quotient [SQG‐Q]) suggest a high risk by metal contamination with possible adverse biological effects, with moderate seasonal variability. Based on a precautionary approach, our results support fisheries closures and the need for public health monitoring in the affected areas, and support other studies that suggest chronic metal contamination of the Rio Doce estuary. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2020;16:655–660. © 2020 SETAC