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. 2023 Aug:193:115244.
doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115244. Epub 2023 Jul 6.

Attribution of sources to heavy metal accumulation in the anthropogenically impacted Bach Dang River Estuary, Vietnam

Nguyen Ngoc Anh  1
Affiliations

Attribution of sources to heavy metal accumulation in the anthropogenically impacted Bach Dang River Estuary, Vietnam

Nguyen Ngoc Anh. Mar Pollut Bull. 2023 Aug.

Abstract

In the present study, concentrations of 10 heavy metals (Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd and Pb) were determined in superficial sediments from 20 sites within the Bach Dang Estuary, Vietnam. An integrated approach including correlation analysis, principal components analysis and positive matrix factorization was successfully applied to identify possible sources of these heavy metals. The results of this study identified four sources of the heavy metals, namely: natural geogenic, mixed anthropogenic, marine transportation and antifouling paint related sources, contributing 34.33 %, 14.80 %, 23.02 % and 27.86 % to the total metal concentrations, respectively. From an environmental impact perspective, these findings could provide a scientific basis for prevention and control of sediment metal pollution. Accordingly, the use of more environmental friendly antifouling paints should be encouraged to minimize metal accumulation in sediments.

Keywords: Heavy metal; Positive matrix factorization; Sediment; Source identification.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest The author has participated in (a) conception and design, or analysis and interpretation of the data; (b) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; and (c) approval of the final version. This manuscript has not been submitted to, nor is under review at, another journal or other publishing venue. The author has no affiliation with any organization with a direct or indirect financial interest in the subject matter discussed in the manuscript.

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