Trace metals and persistent organic pollutants in sediments from river-reservoir systems in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): Spatial distribution and potential ecotoxicological effects

Mwanamoki, Paola M.; Devarajan, Naresh; Thevenon, Florian; Niane, Birane; de Alencastro, Luiz Felippe; Grandjean, Dominique; Mpiana, Pius T.; Prabakar, Kandasamy; Mubedi, Josué I.; Kabele, Christophe G.; Wildi, Walter; Pote-Wembonyama, John

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Title		Trace metals and persistent organic pollutants in sediments from river-reservoir systems in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): Spatial distribution and potential ecotoxicological effects
Authors		Mwanamoki, Paola M. Devarajan, Naresh Thevenon, Florian Niane, Birane de Alencastro, Luiz Felippe Grandjean, Dominique Mpiana, Pius T. Prabakar, Kandasamy Mubedi, Josué I. Kabele, Christophe G. Wildi, Walter Pote-Wembonyama, John show all authors [1 - 12]
Published in		Chemosphere. 2014, vol. 111, p. 485-492
Abstract		This paper discusses the occurrence and spatial distribution of metals and persistent organic pollutants (POPs: including organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sediments from a river-reservoir system. Surface sediments were sampled from thirteen sites of the Congo River Basin and Lake Ma Vallée, both situated in the vicinity of the capital city Kinshasa (Congo Democratic Republic). Sediment qualities were evaluated using toxicity test based on exposing Ostracods to the sediment samples. The highest metal concentrations were observed in sediments subjected to anthropogenic influences, urban runoff and domestic and industrial wastewaters, discharge into the Congo River basin. Ostracods exposed to the sediments resulted in 100% mortality rates after 6 d of incubation, indicating the ultimate toxicity of these sediments as well as potential environmental risks. The POPs and PAHs levels in all sediment samples were low, with maximum concentration found in the sediments (area of pool Malebo): OCP value ranged from 0.02 to 2.50 with POCPs: 3.3 lg kg_1; PCB ranged from 0.07 to 0.99 with Total PCBs (P7 _ 4.3): 15.31 lg kg_1; PAH value ranged from 0.12 to 9.39 with PPAHs: 63.89 lg kg_1. Our results indicate that the deterioration of urban river-reservoir water quality result mainly from urban stormwater runoff, untreated industrial effluents which discharge into the river-reservoirs, human activities and uncontrolled urbanization. This study represents useful tools incorporated to evaluate sediment quality in river-reservoir systems which can be applied to similar aquatic environments.
Keywords		Sediments — Toxic metals — PCBs — PAHs — Toxicity test — Congo River basin
Identifiers		DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2014.04.083
Full text		Article (Published version) (920 Kb) - Limited access to UNIGE Other version: http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0045653514005931
Structures		Faculté des sciences / Section des sciences de la Terre et de l'Environnement / Département F.-A. Forel des sciences de l'environnement et de l'eau
Research group		FORE9 Environmental microbiology
Citation (ISO format)		MWANAMOKI, Paola M. et al. Trace metals and persistent organic pollutants in sediments from river-reservoir systems in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): Spatial distribution and potential ecotoxicological effects. In: Chemosphere, 2014, vol. 111, p. 485-492. https://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:36886