A Multi-Index Analysis Approach to Heavy Metal Pollution Assessment in River Sediments in the Ponce Enríquez Area, Ecuador
The area of Ponce Enríquez, Southern Ecuador, is one of the most important artisanal and small scale gold mining (ASGM) areas in the country, where informal mining operations can be found using amalgamation technique, even though it has been prohibited since 2010. Considering the potential...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2019-03-01
|
| Series: | Water |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/11/3/590 |
| _version_ | 1811316952651530240 |
|---|---|
| author | Alby Aguilar Pesantes Elizabeth Peña Carpio Tomas Vitvar Manuel María Mahamud López Juan M. Menéndez-Aguado |
| author_facet | Alby Aguilar Pesantes Elizabeth Peña Carpio Tomas Vitvar Manuel María Mahamud López Juan M. Menéndez-Aguado |
| author_sort | Alby Aguilar Pesantes |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The area of Ponce Enríquez, Southern Ecuador, is one of the most important artisanal and small scale gold mining (ASGM) areas in the country, where informal mining operations can be found using amalgamation technique, even though it has been prohibited since 2010. Considering the potential impact of these mining operations, the present research focused on heavy metal pollutants in subsurface sediments at 214 sampling locations from several detailed sampling campaigns in the rivers Fermín, Fermín Norte, Guanache, Villa, and Siete. Four parameters were calculated to evaluate the geochemical composition of the river sediment and heavy metal concentrations: The enrichment factor (EF), the geo-accumulation index (Igeo), the contamination factor (Cf) and the pollution load index (PLI). The analyzed elements were Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni, As, Cd, Sb, Sr, and Hg. Due to the lack of standards for pollution levels in sediments in Ecuador, Canadian guidelines were used as interim sediment quality guidelines (ISQG) in this research for comparison with the obtained results in subsurface sediments. The multi-index geochemical analysis indicated elevated heavy metal concentrations in all subsurface sediments in the studied river ecosystems. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T11:58:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7d0b85bf124245f3a7891006d5647467 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T11:58:16Z |
| publishDate | 2019-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-7d0b85bf124245f3a7891006d56474672022-12-22T02:47:51ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412019-03-0111359010.3390/w11030590w11030590A Multi-Index Analysis Approach to Heavy Metal Pollution Assessment in River Sediments in the Ponce Enríquez Area, EcuadorAlby Aguilar Pesantes0Elizabeth Peña Carpio1Tomas Vitvar2Manuel María Mahamud López3Juan M. Menéndez-Aguado4Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL), Facultad de Ingeniería en Ciencias de la Tierra, Guayaquil E C090112, EcuadorEscuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL), Facultad de Ingeniería en Ciencias de la Tierra, Guayaquil E C090112, EcuadorEscuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL), Facultad de Ingeniería en Ciencias de la Tierra, Guayaquil E C090112, EcuadorEscuela Politécnica de Mieres, Universidad de Oviedo, 33600 Mieres, SpainEscuela Politécnica de Mieres, Universidad de Oviedo, 33600 Mieres, SpainThe area of Ponce Enríquez, Southern Ecuador, is one of the most important artisanal and small scale gold mining (ASGM) areas in the country, where informal mining operations can be found using amalgamation technique, even though it has been prohibited since 2010. Considering the potential impact of these mining operations, the present research focused on heavy metal pollutants in subsurface sediments at 214 sampling locations from several detailed sampling campaigns in the rivers Fermín, Fermín Norte, Guanache, Villa, and Siete. Four parameters were calculated to evaluate the geochemical composition of the river sediment and heavy metal concentrations: The enrichment factor (EF), the geo-accumulation index (Igeo), the contamination factor (Cf) and the pollution load index (PLI). The analyzed elements were Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni, As, Cd, Sb, Sr, and Hg. Due to the lack of standards for pollution levels in sediments in Ecuador, Canadian guidelines were used as interim sediment quality guidelines (ISQG) in this research for comparison with the obtained results in subsurface sediments. The multi-index geochemical analysis indicated elevated heavy metal concentrations in all subsurface sediments in the studied river ecosystems.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/11/3/590contamination factorenvironmental evaluationenrichment factorIgeopollution load index |
| spellingShingle | Alby Aguilar Pesantes Elizabeth Peña Carpio Tomas Vitvar Manuel María Mahamud López Juan M. Menéndez-Aguado A Multi-Index Analysis Approach to Heavy Metal Pollution Assessment in River Sediments in the Ponce Enríquez Area, Ecuador Water contamination factor environmental evaluation enrichment factor Igeo pollution load index |
| title | A Multi-Index Analysis Approach to Heavy Metal Pollution Assessment in River Sediments in the Ponce Enríquez Area, Ecuador |
| title_full | A Multi-Index Analysis Approach to Heavy Metal Pollution Assessment in River Sediments in the Ponce Enríquez Area, Ecuador |
| title_fullStr | A Multi-Index Analysis Approach to Heavy Metal Pollution Assessment in River Sediments in the Ponce Enríquez Area, Ecuador |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Multi-Index Analysis Approach to Heavy Metal Pollution Assessment in River Sediments in the Ponce Enríquez Area, Ecuador |
| title_short | A Multi-Index Analysis Approach to Heavy Metal Pollution Assessment in River Sediments in the Ponce Enríquez Area, Ecuador |
| title_sort | multi index analysis approach to heavy metal pollution assessment in river sediments in the ponce enriquez area ecuador |
| topic | contamination factor environmental evaluation enrichment factor Igeo pollution load index |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/11/3/590 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT albyaguilarpesantes amultiindexanalysisapproachtoheavymetalpollutionassessmentinriversedimentsintheponceenriquezareaecuador AT elizabethpenacarpio amultiindexanalysisapproachtoheavymetalpollutionassessmentinriversedimentsintheponceenriquezareaecuador AT tomasvitvar amultiindexanalysisapproachtoheavymetalpollutionassessmentinriversedimentsintheponceenriquezareaecuador AT manuelmariamahamudlopez amultiindexanalysisapproachtoheavymetalpollutionassessmentinriversedimentsintheponceenriquezareaecuador AT juanmmenendezaguado amultiindexanalysisapproachtoheavymetalpollutionassessmentinriversedimentsintheponceenriquezareaecuador AT albyaguilarpesantes multiindexanalysisapproachtoheavymetalpollutionassessmentinriversedimentsintheponceenriquezareaecuador AT elizabethpenacarpio multiindexanalysisapproachtoheavymetalpollutionassessmentinriversedimentsintheponceenriquezareaecuador AT tomasvitvar multiindexanalysisapproachtoheavymetalpollutionassessmentinriversedimentsintheponceenriquezareaecuador AT manuelmariamahamudlopez multiindexanalysisapproachtoheavymetalpollutionassessmentinriversedimentsintheponceenriquezareaecuador AT juanmmenendezaguado multiindexanalysisapproachtoheavymetalpollutionassessmentinriversedimentsintheponceenriquezareaecuador |