Assessing the environmental risk and mobility of cobalt in sediment near nonferrous metal mines with risk assessment indexes and the diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) technique

The Jialing River is the tributary of the Yangtze River with the largest drainage area. In recent years, the Jialing River has suffered a series of environmental problems, such as discharge of industrial effluent and sand mining activities, which have severely threatened the aquatic ecosystem of the river. In the present study, we employed risk assessment indexes, sequential extraction and the diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) technique to assess environmental risks and study the remobilization of cobalt (Co) in sediments. The potential ecological risk index and risk assessment code results demonstrated that Co may pose a low environmental and ecological risk to the local aquatic environment. However, BCR sequential extraction showed that the sum of the F1, F2 and F3 fractions of Co still accounted for over 50% of the Co in the study areas, indicating that sediments may be a source of Co release. The DGT results showed an increasing trend for DGT-labile Co in deep sediments (-8 cm to -12 cm), and the calculated flux values ranged from 0.08 to 15.54 ng cm(2).day(-1), indicating that Co tends to transfer across the sediment-water interface at all sampling sites. Correlation analysis showed that F1-Co, F2-Co and F3-Co are the fractions readily captured by DGT and can be used for predicting Co remobilization in sediment. Sand mining activities contribute substantially to the release of Co from the F1 and F3 fractions as a result of strong stirring of sediments and introduction of oxygen into the sediments. The reductive dissolution of iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) hydroxides or oxides causes the release of Co and Fe/Mn in the sediment, which leads to Co release from the reducible fraction. The above work suggests that sand mining in the Jialing River should be reasonably regulated to prohibit illegal sand mining activities.

Automated summary

This study assessed the environmental risks of the Jialing River using risk assessment indexes, sequential extraction, and the diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) technique, focusing on cobalt (Co) remobilization in sediments. The results showed that Co poses a low environmental and ecological risk to the local aquatic environment, but sediments may still serve as a source of Co release. Sand mining activities were found to contribute significantly to Co release from specific fractions in sediment.