Distribuation and implications of heavy metal in jiangsu coastal sediments in China

Heavy metal concentrations in sediment samples from the Jiangsu coast were determined to explore the spatial distribution and the levels of contamination. The total Cu concentration in the wet season showed higher values than those of the dry season for all stations in Lianyungang coast. The highest CF values for Zn, Cr and Ni at S2, which receives a huge amount of metallic discharge from Zn and Cr mine in bulk in port of Lianyungang. Cu, Cr, Cd, Pb and Ni had the highest EF values at Yancheng coast and Cd had the highest EF values in Nantong region. The Pb and Ni concentration levels are mainly affected by natural sources in Nantong coast and the potential ecological risk indices of Cu and Cd in Yancheng coast, which indicated moderate potential ecological risk of two metals. And the risk associated with Cr in the sediment was moderate risk in most coasts, while the concentrations of Pb in most coasts were of higher risk. The heavy metal concentration of Cu, Zn, Cr and Pb at Lianyungang, Zn, Cr and Pb at Yancheng, Cu, Zn Cr, Pb and Ni at Nantong were below ERL, which represent a minimal-effects range, which is intended to estimate conditions where biological effects are rarely observed. For Cd concentrations at Lianyungang, Yancheng and Nantong are greater than ERL and more than ERM, which represents a range with in which represents the potential acute toxicity of contaminants and aprobable effect range within which adverse biological effects frequently occur. For Pb and Ni contaminant at Yancheng are greater than ERL and less than ERM, which represents a range with in which biological effects occur occasionally.