Publication details
Redistribution of Organic Pollutants in River Sediments and Alluvial Soils Related to Major Floods
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2007 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Journal of Soils and Sediments |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Water pollution and control |
| Keywords | alluvial soils; sediments; floods; PAHs; PCBs; distribution pattern |
| Description | Relatively frequent occurrence of floods raises a concern about material damages but also an important issue of contamination of the affected areas. The effects of major floods were examined from the continuous set of data for alluvial soils and sediments from an industrial area in the Czech Republic where 100-year flood occurred in 1997. The changes in levels and distribution of hydrophobic organic pollutants have been assessed by multiple sampling during 1996-2005. Pollutants concentrations and distribution in sediment and floodplain soils were significantly affected by the floods. The results clearly show different dynamics of PAHs and PCBs during the floods when PAHs were redistributed from the sediments to alluvial soils while PCBs have been washed out of the study regions. The data reveal longer contamination memory and consistent contamination pattern in soils. The distribution of individual PAHs in the sediments, but namely in soils was highly conserved across sites reflecting combustion generated PAH profile. The reloading of river sediments in time namely with PAHs due to present sources increases their risk as a potential contamination source. |
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