Contamination assessment of heavy metal in surface sediments of the Wuding River, northern China

The heavy metal contents and the contamination levels of the surface sediments of the Wuding River, northern China, were investigated. Heavy metal concentration ranged in μg g−1: 50.15–71.91 for Cr, 408.1–442.9 for Mn, 20.11–43.59 for Ni, 17.51–20.1 for Cu, 68.32–89.57 for Zn, 0.2–0.38 for Cd and 15.08–16.14 for Pb in the Wuding River sediments. The enrichment factor (EF) and the geo-accumulation index (Igeo) demonstrated that the sediments of the Wuding River had been polluted by Cd, Cr and Ni, which mainly originated from anthropogenic sources, whereas the sediments had not been polluted by Zn, Pb, Cu and Mn, which were derived from the crust. In addition, the assessment results of EF and Igeo suggested that the sediments of the Wuding River was “moderately” polluted by Cd and “unpolluted to moderately” polluted by Cr and Ni. The elevated urban sewage discharges and agriculture fertilizers usage in river basin are the anthropogenic sources of these heavy metals in river.