Current State and Dynamics of Heavy Metal Pollution in Soil, Sediment and Aquatic Environments

A special issue of Toxics (ISSN 2305-6304). This special issue belongs to the section "Metals and Radioactive Substances".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2022) | Viewed by 8597

Special Issue Editor

Department of Thematic Studies, Environmental Change, Linköping University, 58183 Linköping, Sweden
Interests: biogeochemistry; paleoclimate reconstruction; trace metals and organic pollutants; bioavailability; biomagnification
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The pollution of the environment by heavy metals is increasingly becoming a problem and of great concern due to the adverse effects it is causing worldwide. Heavy metals are naturally occurring elements present in the soil, sediment, and aquatic environments with a high atomic weight and a density at least five times greater than that of water. They are systemic toxicants known to induce adverse health effects in humans, with their severity being related to the type of heavy metal and its chemical form. Therefore, studying their current state and dynamics, such as distribution, toxicity, degradability, etc., is essential in removing them or implementing remedial measures to reduce their levels.

Therefore, this Special Issue will focus on research addressing the leading techniques related to the surveying, monitoring, analysis (method development), evaluation and remediation strategies for heavy metal pollution. This issue would also include studying ecotoxicological and evaluation criteria to quantify toxicity effects in sedimentary and aquatic environments. Furthermore, it includes the latest research on the physiological and biochemical effects of heavy metals on soil, sediment and aquatic environments.

Prof. Dr. Joyanto Routh
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • heavy metal
  • pollution
  • ecotoxicology
  • soil
  • sediment
  • aquatic environments

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

30 pages, 2505 KiB  
Review
Research Progress on Heavy Metals Pollution in the Soil of Smelting Sites in China
by Muhammad Adnan, Baohua Xiao, Peiwen Xiao, Peng Zhao, Ruolan Li and Shaheen Bibi
Toxics 2022, 10(5), 231; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/toxics10050231 - 30 Apr 2022
Cited by 47 | Viewed by 8223
Abstract
Contamination by heavy metals is a significant issue worldwide. In recent decades, soil heavy metals pollutants in China had adverse impacts on soil quality and threatened food security and human health. Anthropogenic inputs mainly generate heavy metal contamination in China. In this review, [...] Read more.
Contamination by heavy metals is a significant issue worldwide. In recent decades, soil heavy metals pollutants in China had adverse impacts on soil quality and threatened food security and human health. Anthropogenic inputs mainly generate heavy metal contamination in China. In this review, the approaches were used in these investigations, focusing on geochemical strategies and metal isotope methods, particularly useful for determining the pathway of mining and smelting derived pollution in the soil. Our findings indicate that heavy metal distribution substantially impacts topsoils around mining and smelting sites, which release massive amounts of heavy metals into the environment. Furthermore, heavy metal contamination and related hazards posed by Pb, Cd, As, and Hg are more severe to plants, soil organisms, and humans. It’s worth observing that kids are particularly vulnerable to Pb toxicity. And this review also provides novel approaches to control and reduce the impacts of heavy metal pollution. Hydrometallurgy offers a potential method for extracting metals and removing potentially harmful heavy metals from waste to reduce pollution. However, environmentally friendly remediation of contaminated sites is a significant challenge. This paper also evaluates current technological advancements in the remediation of polluted soil, such as stabilization/solidification, natural attenuation, electrokinetic remediation, soil washing, and phytoremediation. The ability of biological approaches, especially phytoremediation, is cost-effective and favorable to the environment. Full article
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