Pollution Level and Ecological Risk Rssessment of Heavy Metals in Riverside Sediments of the Grand Canal (Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei section)

Pollution level and ecological risk assessment of heavy metals in riverside sediments of the Grand Canal (Beijing, Tianjin and Heibei sections) were studied. The concentrations of As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, V and Zn in shallow sediments were measured by ICP-MS. It was found that the concentrations of several heavy metals in shallow sediments were higher than the background values of soils in Beijing area. The results showed that the historical heavy metal discharge in the studied area still had some adverse effects on river sediments. The data of potential ecological risk assessment indicated that about 34.6% of the sampling sites reached medium ecological risk level. The main hazardous metal was Cd, and thus Cd should be managed in priority.