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Co-occurrence of microplastics and heavy metals to urban river sediments: The vertical distribution characterization and comprehensive ecological risk assessment

Journal of Hazardous Materials 2025 24 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 73 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.

Jinying Hu, Wenjuan He, Jinying Hu, Wenjuan He, Chenyu Zhang, Wenjuan He, Wenjuan He, Wenjuan He, Wenjuan He, Wenjuan He, Wenjuan He, Si Liu, Wenjuan He, Si Liu, Si Liu, Wenjuan He, Wenjuan He, Jinhui Huang, Jinhui Huang, Jinhui Huang, Jinhui Huang, Jinhui Huang, Jinhui Huang, Wenjuan He, Jinhui Huang, Lixiu Shi, Wenjuan He, Zhexi Liu, Lixiu Shi, Wenjuan He, Si Liu, Wenjuan He, Wenjuan He, Wenjuan He, Wenjuan He, Wenjuan He, Wenjuan He, Lixiu Shi, Lixiu Shi, Lixiu Shi, Jinying Hu, Wenjuan He, Wenjuan He, Lixiu Shi, Lixiu Shi, Lixiu Shi, Lixiu Shi, Jinying Hu, Lixiu Shi, Wenjuan He, Wenjuan He, Lixiu Shi, Enjie Li, Lixiu Shi, Lixiu Shi, Lixiu Shi, Jinying Hu, Jinhui Huang, Jinying Hu, Zhexi Liu, Zhexi Liu, Enjie Li, Enjie Li, Haoliang Pang Wei Zhang, Zhexi Liu, Haoliang Pang Jinying Hu, Enjie Li, Enjie Li, Jinying Hu, Jinying Hu, Zhexi Liu, Enjie Li, Enjie Li, Haoliang Pang Jinying Hu, Lixiu Shi, Wei Zhang, Jinying Hu, Jinying Hu, Zhexi Liu, Haoliang Pang Jinying Hu, Haoliang Pang Jinying Hu, Zhexi Liu, Lixiu Shi, Chenyu Zhang, Si Liu, Haoliang Pang Jinhui Huang, Chenyu Zhang, Haoliang Pang Haoliang Pang Haoliang Pang Haoliang Pang Si Liu, Haoliang Pang Zhexi Liu, Wenjuan He, Zhexi Liu, Wenjuan He, Enjie Li, Haoliang Pang

Summary

Researchers studied how microplastics and heavy metals are distributed at different depths in urban river sediments and found that pollution risk actually increases deeper in the sediment. Polyethylene fragments were the most common type of microplastic found, and the combination of microplastics with heavy metals like zinc, arsenic, and cadmium creates a compounded ecological risk. These findings suggest that looking only at surface sediment may underestimate the true extent of pollution in urban waterways.

Study Type Environmental

Microplastics (MPs) and heavy metals (HMs) are deemed to pose ecological risks in river ecosystems. The vertical distribution of these pollutants is more conducive to reflecting pollution status and monitoring trends in the sediment. This work analyzed the horizontal and vertical distribution, carried out a risk assessment of HMs and MPs in urban river sediment, and further optimized the two-dimensional comprehensive index (TPI) model for MPs-HMs combined pollution. The highest rates of contamination were for Zn, As, and Cd, and MP abundance in sediment ranged from 20.00 ± 8.82-1933.33 ± 141.42 items·kg, mainly characterized by PE and fragments. Moreover, the mean potential ecological risk index for MPs (PRI) at different depths of sediment were 197.21 ± 247.14, 176.79 ± 293.86, and 246.98 ± 538.38, respectively, indicating a moderate risk and the highest PRI value is at the bottom. The TPI exhibited that the average TPI at different depths is 324.10 ± 138.63, 368.30 ± 157.13, and 481.88 ± 296.05, indicating that the comprehensive pollution risk level belongs to considerable, the TPI increases with the depth of the sediment. The results further improved the objectivity and accuracy of the research on the ecotoxicity of compositive pollutants and provided an in-depth understanding of MPs and HMs in urban freshwater basins from a vertical perspective.

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