Heavy Metal Distribution and Stabilizing Effects Mechanism of Liangtan River Sediments

Abstract:

This paper presents a study of Liangtan River sediments to measure heavy metal contents and distribution in 39 sediment samples of different monitoring sections. Nano scale iron was chosen to determine its effects on heavy metal stabilization in five contaminated sediment, and its stabilization mechanism was analyzed by X Ray Diffraction (XRD). The results show that the sediments in Liangtan River are polluted by Cu, Pb, As, Zn, Cd, Cr. As is polluted the most severly, the highest value reaches 110 times of the soil background value. After adding nano scale iron, the concentrations of As, Zn, Pb, Cr, Cu, Hg are highly reduced. XRD analysis shows that the chemical form of heavy metals changing from the free state to steady state is one of the main reasons for the reduction of the leaching toxicity after adding nano scale iron.