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Monitoring and assessment of heavy metal contamination in surface water

and sediment of the Old Brahmaputra River, Bangladesh

Article in Applied Water Science · June 2019

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Applied Water Science (2019) 9:125
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Monitoring and assessment of heavy metal contamination in surface

water and sediment of the Old Brahmaputra River, Bangladesh
Md. Simul Bhuyan1 · Muhammad Abu Bakar2 · Md. Rashed‑Un‑Nabi1 · Venkatramanan Senapathi3,4 ·
Sang Yong Chung5 · Md. Shafiqul Islam1

Received: 31 August 2017 / Accepted: 13 June 2019

© The Author(s) 2019

Abstract
The present study was conducted to measure globally alarming of ten heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Al, Ni, Co, Zn and
Mn) in surface water and sediment of the Old Brahmaputra River in Bangladesh. The observed order of heavy metal mean
concentration in water and sediments is Al > Mn > Ni > Co > Cu > Pb > Zn > Cr > Cd > Hg in mg/l and Al > Mn > Zn > Ni >
Pb > Cr > Cu > Co > Cd > Hg in mg/kg, respectively. The significant variations of Cr, Cu, Al and Ni were found in the water
of all seasons (p < 0.05), while sediment showed Pb and Hg exhibited substantial changes in terms of seasons (p < 0.05).
Principal component analysis and correlation matrix revealed that significant anthropogenic input of Pb, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Al,
Ni, Co, Zn and Mn in water and sediment. In case of water, very strong linear relationships exhibited in Ni versus Cu (0.911),
Ni versus Al (0.910), Mn versus Co (0.882), Cr versus Al (0.877), Cu versus Cd (0.853), Ni versus Pb (0.850), Zn versus Cr
(0.833), Ni versus Cd (0.828), Cu versus Cr (0.827), Al versus Cd (0.827) and Zn versus Co (0.804) at the significance level
0.05. In sediments, very strong linear relationships were noted in Zn versus Cr (0.889), Al versus Pb (0.848), Co versus Al
(0.819) and Mn versus Co (0.806) at the significance level 0.05. The result discovered that water and sediment quality of
the Old Brahmaputra River became contaminated due to the anthropogenic sources of industrial, domestic and irrigation
discharges. This environmental monitoring and assessment research will be useful for the management and planning for the
protection of this river.

Keywords Heavy metals · Contamination · Water · Sediment · Statistical analysis · Old Brahmaputra River

Introduction because of their profusion, persistence and toxicity (Islam

et al. 2015a; Ahmed et al. 2015a, b). Heavy metal contami-
Contamination of heavy metals in river water and sedi- nation of river water and surface sediments becomes the
ments is the major environmental focus especially during major quality problems in fast developing cities since water
the last decade (Ozmen et al. 2004; Fernandes et al. 2008) and sediment quality maintenance and hygiene structure do
not grow along with population and urbanization (Ahmad
et al. 2010). Both natural and anthropogenic activities are
* Venkatramanan Senapathi
venkatramanan@[Link] largely liable for the heavy metal abundance in the environ-
ment (Wilson and Pyatt 2007; Khan et al. 2008). Massive
1
Faculty of Marine Sciences and Fisheries, University deposit of toxic heavy metals is discharged by anthropogenic
of Chittagong, Chittagong, Bangladesh activities (Gao et al. 2009; Nduka and Orisakwe 2011) as
2
Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, well as by natural process that also contributes to the metal
Chittagong, Bangladesh contamination in aquatic environment (Tarra-Wahlberg
3
Department for Management of Science and Technology et al. 2001; Jordao et al. 2002; Khan et al. 2008; Bai et al.
Development, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, 2011; Grigoratos et al. 2014; Martin et al. 2015). Geological
Vietnam
weathering, industrial disposal of metals and metal compo-
4
Faculty of Applied Sciences, Ton Duc Thang University, nents, leaching of metals from garbage, solid waste heaps,
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
animal and human excreta are major sources of heavy metals
5
Department of Earth Environmental Sciences, Pukyong (Forstner 1983). Moreover, metal contamination in aquatic
National University, Busan, South Korea

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125 Page 2 of 13 Applied Water Science (2019) 9:125

ecosystems is due to the effects of unplanned urbanization Al, Mn, Ni, Pb and Cu is discharged into the Old Brahmapu-
and haphazard industrialization (Zhang et al. 2011; Bai et al. tra River which contributes largely to pollution of the surface
2011; Grigoratos et al. 2014; Martin et al. 2015; Bhuyan and water and sediments. Unfortunately, no scientific research
Islam 2017, Chung et al. 2018). These activities can generate regarding heavy metal pollution in surface water and sedi-
heavy metals in sediment and water that pollute the aquatic ment of the Old Brahmaputra River has been conducted so
environment (Sanchez-Chardi et al. 2007). far. Therefore, the foremost objectives of the present study
In an aquatic ecosystem, heavy metals scavenged by were to determine the heavy metal concentrations in water
fine particles lead to their accumulation in sediments. The and sediment. It is expected that this research can contribute
contamination of heavy metals in water and sediments has to the identification of heavy metal contamination sources
produced significant adverse ecologic effects (Yi et al. 2011; and origin and to the effective conservation and management
Islam et al. 2014; Martin et al. 2015; Islam et al. 2015b, of Old Brahmaputra River system.
c; Ahmed et al. 2015c). However, the level of the risks is
very tough to measure accurately, due to the difficulty of
biologic and chemical interactions that is hugely responsi- Materials and methods
ble for the alteration of the bioavailability of metals. It may
undergo regular changes due to dissolution, precipitation and Sampling sites
absorption which affect their performance and bioavailabil-
ity (Nicolau et al. 2006; Nouri et al. 2011). Heavy metals are The Old Brahmaputra River, close to the Narsingdi district
released from sediments by the processes of re-suspension (24°08′03.76″N & 90°47′09.62″E), is one of the most impor-
of particulates and activities of micro-organisms within tant ecosystems with more aquaculture farms (Fig. 1). It
the sediments and at the sediment–water interface. These plays a very important role in minimizing rural poverty and
soluble forms of the heavy metals may be found in crusta- supplying food to the poor fishing community as well as for
ceans, finfish and shellfish (NNPC and RIP 1986) and can local people. It is an active river that plays a significant role
be shifted to humans via the food chain pathways (Camusso in morphological changes in the downstream area (Amacher
et al. 1995; Sun et al. 2001; Zhou et al. 2004; Sharma et al. et al. 1989). Continuous variations of the river’s course con-
2007; Yi et al. 2011; Alhashemi et al. 2012; Pan and Wang stitute a significant factor in the hydrology of the Brahmapu-
2012; Rahman et al. 2013; Islam et al. 2015a; Ahmed et al. tra. Samples were collected at Drenerghat (24°08′54.42″N
2015a, b). & 90°42′02.64″E) and Belanagor (23°56′19.12″N and
Sediments have been extensively regarded as environ- 90°42′36.07″E) (Fig. 1). There are lot of textile craft indus-
mental pointers for the evaluation of metal pollution in tries and dying industries along the Old Brahmaputra River.
the watercourse (Islam et al. 2015d). Among the environ- Moreover, domestic sewage adds another pollution dimen-
mental pollutants, metals are of specific concern because sion of the river. In summer season, the river water layer gets
of their possible toxic effects and capability to bioaccumu- down and water gets mixed with the pollutants discharged
late in aquatic ecosystems (Censi et al. 2006). Sediment is by these industries.
an important part of the river basin, with the deviation of
habitats and environments (Morillo et al. 2004). Thus, it is Geological information
necessary to evaluate the concentrations of heavy metals in
water and sediments. The Brahmaputra River is a trans-boundary river which
Today, metal pollution has become the major problem flows through China, India and Bangladesh. In Bangla-
in many fast-growing emerging countries like Bangladesh desh, the Brahmaputra is linked by the Teesta River (one
(Islam et al. 2015c; Kibria et al. 2016a, b; Bhuyan et al. of its largest tributaries). The Brahmaputra River gets split
2016; Bhuyan and Islam 2017). The discharge of municipal into two distributary branches below the Teesta. The west-
wastes, unprocessed effluents from various industries and ern branch contains the majority of the river’s flow which
agricultural inputs in the open water bodies and rivers has continues as the Jamuna to merge with the lower Ganga,
created a frightening situation in Bangladesh (Venugopal named the Padma River. The eastern branch is called the
et al. 2009; Islam et al. 2015a, c). lower or Old Brahmaputra River. Brahmaputra River starts
In Bangladesh, the Old Brahmaputra River is one of the its 3000 km journey to the Bay of Bengal from the slopes
most important rivers. Being the part of industrial developed of Kailash in western Tibet. The Tsangpo known as Tibet’s
zone, the pollution is increasing day by day, especially heavy great river crosses from east to the high-altitude Tibetan
metal pollution. This river is receiving a huge amount of plateau, north of the Great Himalayan Range with various
untreated effluents from various industries such as textile myriad channels and sandbanks on its way. It comes down
crafts, dying industries, spinning mills, cotton, jute mills and from Sadiya in the south of Arunachal Pradesh and passes
others. High concentration of various heavy metals such as through the Dibrugarh, Neamati, Tezpur, Guwahati and

13
Applied Water Science (2019) 9:125 Page 3 of 13 125

Fig. 1  Map showing sampling points of the Old Brahmaputra River

finally joins the Padma, the easternmost branch of the Gan- dominance of physical weathering was suggested by High
ges. This connected watercourse then flows into Bangladesh IC values in the Brahmaputra river course. Several geologi-
where it joins with the Meghna River. The Brahmaputra is cal changes in the basin were reported by improved chemi-
navigable for favourable geological properties, especially for cal weathering under increasingly warmer and more humid
its length. The lower part of this river is revered to Hindus. conditions (Bhuyan et al. 2016).
Being one of the major rivers that are prone to tides in the
world, the river is exposed to catastrophic flooding in spring Sample collection and preservation
when the Himalayan snows start to melt. Late Quaternary
sediments of the Brahmaputra basin revealed a history of A total of 12 surface water sample and 12 surface sediment
river swapping and climate change as exposed from sand- samples were collected at three phases: September 2015
and clay-size mineralogy of shafts and up-to-date riverbed (rainy season), January 2016 (winter season) and March
grabs. Epidote-to-crimson ratios in sand fraction sediments 2016 (pre-monsoon). Two litres of surface water sample
are diagnostic of the source with high E/G that designates was collected. Immediately after collection, water sample
Brahmaputra origin and low E/G indicates Ganges promi- was acidified with nitric acid (pH = 2) and was transferred
nence. The Brahmaputra contains kaolinite (29%), illite to the laboratory.
(63%) and chlorite (3%) (Bhuyan and Islam, 2017).
The Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers have changed their Heavy metal determination
position several times during the Holocene that is indicated
by the analysis of mineralogical and stratigraphic data of The heavy metal contents of collected water and sediments
Brahmaputra basin. Prolonged eras of mixed river inputs were determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS,
seem to be distant to the Early Holocene, representing rapid model iCE 3300, Thermo Scientific, UK) using standard
migrating and meandering channels during sea level low analytical procedure (Table 1). Samples were carefully
stand. During much of the Holocene, tectonic elevation of handled to avoid contamination. Glassware was properly
Sylhet Basin may have contributed to the larger course of cleaned by chromic acid and distilled water. Analytical-
this river. Varying degrees of physical and chemical weath- grade chemicals and reagents were used for blank determi-
ering indicate the abundances of illite and chlorite contrast nation and instrument readings. The techniques for sample
to smectite and kaolinite. In early post-glacial deposits, a

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125 Page 4 of 13 Applied Water Science (2019) 9:125

Table 1  Spectral lines used in emission measurements and the instru- Standard preparation
mental detection limit for the elements measured by using ICP–AES
Elements Wavelength (nm) Instrumental All samples were prepared from chemicals of analytical
detection limit grade with distilled water. 1 gm of metal cadmium, cop-
(mg/l) per, lead and nickel was dissolved in H­ NO3 solution; 1 g
Hg 253.7 of cobalt, iron, manganese, zinc and aluminium was dis-
Pd 217.0 0.013 solved in HCl solution; 2.8289 g K ­ 2Cr 2O 7 (= 1 g chro-
Cr 357.9 0.0054 mium) was dissolved in water and made up to 1 L in volu-
Co 240.7 0.01 metric flask with distilled water; thus, stock solution of
Cd 228.8 0.0028 1000 mg/l of Cd, Cu, Pb, Ni, Co, Fe, Mn, Zn, Al and Cr
Mn 279.5 0.0016 was prepared. Then 100 ml of 0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1.0
Ni 232.0 0.008 and 2.0 mg/l of working standards of each metal except
Zn 213.9 0.0033 iron was prepared from the stock using micropipettes in
Cu 324.8 0.0045 5 ml of 2 N nitric acid. 100 ml of 2.0, 2.5, 5.0, 10.0 and
Al 309.3 0.028 20.0 mg/l of working standards of iron metal was prepared
from iron stock solution. Reagent blank was prepared in
the same manner of sample preparation without sample
and standard preparation and analysis of metal have been to avoid reagent contamination (Thompson and Howarth
briefly described below. 1976; APHA 1995).

Sample preparation (sediment) Analysis of sample

This procedure was also used for the destruction of The atomic absorption instrument was set up, and flame
organic matter. Precaution was to be taken to avoid losses condition and absorbance were optimized. Then blanks
by volatilization of elements. The samples were weighed (deionized water), standards, sample blank and samples
accurately, and a suitable quantity (10 to 20 g) was trans- were aspirated into the flame in AAS (model iCE 3300).
ferred to a silica crucible. After that, the samples were The calibration curves were obtained for concentration
dried at 120 °C in a laboratory oven. These dishes were versus absorbance. Data were statistically analysed using
then placed in the muffle furnace at ambient temperature, fitting of straight line by least square method. A blank
and the temperature is raised slowly to 450 °C at a rate of reading was also taken, and necessary corrections were
no more than 50 °C/h. The samples were ignited in a muf- made during the calculation of concentration of various
fle furnace at 450 °C for at least 8 h. After the samples are elements.
cooled, the dishes were removed from furnace. Then the
sediment samples were digested in desired amount of 50%
nitric acid on hot plate. Again samples were filtrated into Statistical analysis
a 100-ml volumetric flask using Whatman No. 44 filter
paper and the residue was washed. Each sample solution The research data sets were interpreted with various statisti-
was made up to the mark with distilled water (Chung et al. cal analyses using SPSS (version 22). The one-way analysis
2018). of variance (ANOVA) was performed by the concentration
of heavy metals in terms of seasons and sites. G-Graph was
used for the graphical appearance of heavy metal in seasons
Sample preparation (water) and sites. Principal component analysis (PCA) was carried
out on the source of heavy metal contamination. Pearson’s
A 100 ml water of each of the water samples was taken in product–moment correlation matrix was obtained to identify
a beaker. Then the samples were digested by adding 5 ml the relationship between the metals. Cluster analysis (CA) is
conc. ­HNO3 on a hot plate. After that, the samples were an effective tool to find out the similarity and variation with
filtrated into a 100-ml volumetric flask using Whatman the influencing factors on different data sets (Wang et al.
No. 44 filter paper and made up to the mark with distilled 2014). Moreover, CA is an important tool for the charac-
water. terization and simplification of data sets with the behaviour
they possess. CA (dendrogram) was performed to show the
similarity among variables and to identify their sources of
origin using PRIMER (version 6).

13
Applied Water Science (2019) 9:125 Page 5 of 13 125

Results and discussion concentration (11.5 mg/l) of Al was recorded at Bela-

nagor in post-monsoon. The concentration exceeded the
Seasonal variation of heavy metal levels in surface admissible limit (0.2 mg/l) set by ECR (1997). The lowest
water samples concentration of Al (1.15 mg/l) in monsoon season is at
Belanagor. The highest concentration of Mn was recorded
The concentration of heavy metals in surface water and (2.5 mg/l) at Belanagor during post-monsoon that was
its comparison with other rivers of Bangladesh are given above the permissible limit of standards as WHO (2004),
in Table 2. The mean concentration of heavy metals is ECR (1997) and EPA (1986). This concentration is also
shown in Fig. 2 and Table 3. The observed concentration above the value recorded. This is due to the geogenic ori-
of heavy metals is in the following order: Al > Mn > Ni > gin and also attributed to the minor input of anthropogenic
Co > Cu > Pb > Zn Cr > Cd > Hg in mg/l. The concentra- sources (Balkis et al. 2010; Mokaddes et al. 2013). Ni con-
tions of Al ranged between 1.5 and 11.5 mg/l. A higher centration in water varied from 0.02 to 0.8 mg/l. A higher
concentration of Ni was noted (0.8 mg/l) at Drenerghat in

Table 2  Comparison of the observed values of heavy metals in the water of the Old Brahmaputra River with other rivers of Bangladesh
River Pb Cd Cr Cu Hg Al Ni Co Zn Mn References

Old Brahmaputra River 0.11 0.001 0.01 0.12 0.001 6.87 0.44 0.2 0.01 1.44 Present study
Buriganga 0.07 0.009 0.59 0.163 – – 0.008 – – – Ahmad et al. (2010)
Buriganga 0.112 0.059 0.114 0.15 0.332 0.157 Bhuiyan et al. (2015)
Balu 0.001 0.008 – 0.01 – – – – 0.02 0.03 Mokaddes et al. (2013)
Dhaleshwari 0.05 0.006 0.44 0.15 – – 0.007 – – – Ahmed et al. (2009)
Dhaleshwari 0.20 0.00 0.13 0.00 – – – – – – Ahmed et al. (2012)
Khiru 0.02 0.13 – 0.004 – – – – 0.006 0.17 Rashid et al. (2012)
Karatoa Trace – 0.005 Trace – – 0.005 – Trace 0.101 Zakir et al. (2012)
Karnofuly 0.14 0.01 0.25 0.05 – – – – 0.28 0.12 Islam et al. (2013)
Meghna BDL 0.003 0.035 – – BDL – 0.036 0.009 Hassan et al. (2015)
Shitalakhya 0.001 0.01 – 0.005 – – – – 0.02 0.05 Mokaddes et al. (2013)
Shitalakhya 0.05 0.003 0.08 0.04 0.02 0.72 Islam et al. (2014)
Turag 0.002 0.01 – 0.004 – – – – 0.02 0.06 Mokaddes et al. (2013)

Fig. 2  Graph showing mean

concentrations (mg/l) of heavy
metals in water during three
seasons

13
125 Page 6 of 13 Applied Water Science (2019) 9:125

Table 3  Concentration of heavy Sites Seasons Pb Cd Cr Cu Hg Al Ni Co Zn Mn

metals in water and sediment
at different sites in different Heavy metals in water (mg/l)
seasons
Belanagor Pre-monsoon 0.12 BDL BDL 0.18 BDL 10.2 0.5 BDL BDL 2.1
Drenerghat 0.21 BDL BDL 0.12 BDL 7.5 0.6 BDL BDL 1.1
Belanagor Monsoon BDL BDL BDL 0.04 BDL 1.5 0.02 BDL BDL BDL
Drenerghat 0.04 BDL BDL 0.03 BDL 1.6 0.02 0.03 BDL 1.4
Belanagor Post-monsoon 0.10 BDL BDL 0.2 BDL 11.5 0.7 BDL BDL 2.5
Drenerghat 0.20 BDL BDL 0.17 BDL 8.9 0.8 BDL BDL 1.5
Heavy metals in sediment (mg/kg)
Belanagor Pre-monsoon 8.8 BDL 6.4 6.2 BDL 10,000 12.9 4.6 51.2 145
Drenerghat 8.1 BDL 5.2 5.7 BDL 8800 11.3 3.7 33.5 101
Belanagor Monsoon 4.8 BDL 7.5 6.8 BDL 8200 11.5 3.85 81 105
Drenerghat 5.6 BDL 8 6.2 BDL 6900 13.5 3.9 65 145
Belanagor Post-monsoon 9.8 BDL 6.5 6.4 BDL 11,200 14 4.8 52.5 155
Drenerghat 8.5 BDL 5.8 5.8 BDL 8900 13.5 3.9 32.78 106

a post-monsoon season that exceeded the allowable limit the effluents from industries and urban wastes (Ahmad
set by WHO (2004) and ECR (1997). A minimum concen- et al. 2010).
tration of Ni was observed (0.02 mg/l) at Belanagor and
Drenerghat in monsoon season. The emission of contami- ANOVA findings
nation was caused by textile and dying industries (Ahmad
et al. 2010; Faisal et al. 2004). Average Co concentration ANOVA provided significant variations in the concentra-
(0.20 mg/l) was measured at Drenerghat. Co is favour- tions of Cr, Cu, Al and Ni that were found in terms of sea-
able to health, but the excess level of Co may pose lung sons (p < 0.05). No significant variations (p > 0.05) exhibited
and heart effects and dermatitis (ATSDR 2004). This is in metals Pb, Cd, Hg, Co, Zn and Mn. Moreover, predomi-
probably represented by geogenic and industrial inputs. A nant variations (p > 0.05) in the metal concentrations were
higher concentration of Cu was noted (0.2 mg/l) at Bela- recorded in terms of sites (p > 0.05).
nagor station in post-monsoon, and the average concentra-
tion of Cu is 0.12 mg/l, which is far below the allowable Correlation matrix
limit set of standards set by WHO (2004), EPA (2002)
and ECR (1997). The concentration of Pb was recorded Correlation matrix showed that a very strong linear rela-
between 0.01 and 0.21 mg/l. The highest concentration tionship was found in Ni versus Cu (0.911), Ni versus Al
was 0.21 mg/l at Drenerghat in pre-monsoon season. Pb (0.910), Mn versus Co (0.882), Cr versus Al (0.877), Cu ver-
exhibited the permissible limit set by standards of WHO sus Cd (0.853), Ni versus Pb (0.850), Zn versus Cr (0.833),
(2004), USEPA (2006), EPA (2002) and ECR (1997). Ni versus Cd (0.828), Cu versus Cr (0.827), Al versus Cd
Moreover, Hassan et al. (2015) found the Pb concentra- (0.827) and Zn versus Co (0.804) at the significance level of
tion below detection limit from the Meghna River, Bang- 0.05 (Table 4). Moreover, Al versus Cu (0.992) and Zn ver-
ladesh. The lowest concentration 0.01 mg/l was recorded sus Hg (0.949) showed very strong linear relationship at the
at Belanagor in monsoon season. Zn was found between significance level 0.01. A strong relationship was observed
BDL and 0.01 mg/l. This is significantly affected by paint in Cr versus Cd (0.760), Hg versus Cr (0.754), Cd versus Pb
and textile industries and associated with the discharge of (0.742), Co versus Cr (0.742) and Ni versus Cr (0.719) at
sewage and irrigation runoff (Ahmad et al. 2010; Mokad- the level of 0.01. These results indicated that there was some
des et al. 2013). The concentration of Cr was observed original relationship between heavy metals, and revealed two
between BDL and 0.01 mg/l, which was found below the different probable heavy metal sources such as anthropo-
limits of WHO (2004), USEPA (2006), ECR (1997). The genic and lithogenic (Islam et al. 2016a, b).
concentration of Cd ranged from BDL to 0.001 mg/l. The
maximum amount of Cd was recorded (0.001 mg/l) above Seasonal variation of heavy metal levels in surface
the tolerable limits of USEPA 2006 and ECR (1997). In sediment samples
the case of Hg, it varied between BDL and 0.001 mg/l.
This concentration was found within the limits of WHO The concentration of heavy metals in surface sediments and
(2004), ECR (1997), USEPA (2006). This is because of its comparison with other rivers of Bangladesh are given

13
Applied Water Science (2019) 9:125 Page 7 of 13 125

Table 4  Correlation matrix of Pb Cd Cr Cu Hg Al Ni Co Zn Mn

heavy metals in water
Pb 1
Cd 0.742 1
Cr 0.629 0.760 1
Cu 0.620 0.853 0.827 1
Hg 0.296 0.635 0.754 0.460 1
Al 0.646 0.827 0.877 0.992 0.484 1
Ni 0.850 0.828 0.719 0.911 0.253 0.910 1
Co − 0.006 0.454 0.742 0.678 0.618 0.695 0.343 1
Zn 0.217 0.574 0.833 0.567 0.949 0.603 0.302 0.804 1
Mn − 0.194 0.304 0.453 0.641 0.259 0.619 0.312 0.882 0.492 1

Table 5  Comparison of the observed values of heavy metals in the surface sediment of the Old Brahmaputra River with other rivers of Bangla-
desh
River Pb Cd Cr Cu Hg Al Ni Co Zn Mn References

Old Brahmaputra River 7.6 0.48 6.6 6.2 0.001 9000 12.8 4.1 52.7 126.2 Present study
Buriganga 69.75 3.33 177.5 27.85 – – 200.5 – – – Ahmad et al. (2010)
Buriganga 79.8 0.8 101.2 184.4 – – – – 502.3 – Saha and Hossain (2011)
Buriganga 31.4 1.5 173.4 344.2 – – 153.3 – 481.8 4036 Mohiuddin et al. (2015)
Bangshi 59.99 0.61 98.1 25.67 117.15 483.4 Rahman et al. (2014)
Dhaleshwari 15.79 2.08 27.39 37.45 – – – – – – Ahmed et al. (2012)
Khiru 5.60 2.05 – 34.7 – – – – 97.77 28.56 Rashid et al. (2012)
Karnofuly 4.96 0.24 0.76 1.22 – – – – 16.30 15.30 Islam et al. (2013)
Karatoa 58 1.20 109 – – – 95 – – – Islam et al. (2015c)
Meghna 9.47 0.23 31.74 – – – 76.1 – 79.02 442.6 Hassan et al. (2015)
Shitalakhya 28.36 5.01 63.22 – – – 39.22 – 75 – Islam et al. (2014)
Shitalakhya – – 74.82 143.7 – 30,432.4 – 13.37 200.6 – Islam et al. (2016a, b)
Turag 1.64 1.4 0.44 1.576 – – – – 1.08 – Banu et al. (2013)

in Table 5. The mean concentration of heavy metals was at Belanagor, and lower concentration of Zn (32.78 mg/kg)
observed in the following order: Al > Mn > Zn > Ni > Pb > was noted at Drenerghat in monsoon and post-monsoon sea-
Cr > Cu > Co > Cd > Hg mg/kg (Fig. 3). Al concentration in sons, respectively. This is above the limits of WHO (2008)
sediments is ranged from 6900 to 11,200 mg/kg. The higher and FAO (1985). Ni concentration was ranged from 11.3
concentration of Al (11,200 mg/kg) was recorded at Belana- to 14 mg/kg. A higher concentration of Ni (14 mg/kg) was
gor in post-monsoon. The lowest quantity of Al (6900 mg/ observed at Belanagor in post-monsoon, while the lower
kg) was found at Drenerghat in monsoon season. Al con- level of Ni (11.3 mg/kg) was noted at Drenerghat in pre-
centration of sediments was above the permissible limit of monsoon. Ni was found below the allowable limits of WHO
FAO (1985). (2004) and USEPA (1999) but higher than the limits of
The concentration of Mn was noted between 101 and FAO (1985). The concentration of Pb ranged between 4.8
155 mg/kg. The highest level of Mn (155 mg/kg) was and 9.8 mg/kg. The highest concentration of Pb (9.8 mg/
recorded at Belanagor, while the lowest concentration of Mn kg) recorded at Belanagor in post-monsoon. This result is
(101 mg/kg) was established at Drenerghat in pre-monsoon. above the limit of FAO (1985). Effluents are from textile and
The concentrations exceeded the permissible limit set by paint industries and domestic waste runoff from the urban
WHO (2008), USEPA (1999) and FAO (1985). It is sug- environment (Saha and Hossain 2011; Banu et al. 2013).
gested that the concentration Al and Mn originated from The concentration of Cr varied between 5.2 and 7.5 mg/
the lithogenic and is also associated with spinning miles and kg, whereas the higher concentration (7.5 mg/kg) of Cr was
paint industries wastes (Rahman et al. 2014; Hassan et al. observed at Belanagor in monsoon season. The concentra-
2015). The concentration of Zn varied from 32.78 to 81 mg/ tion of Cr was below the allowable limits of WHO (2004)
kg. A higher concentration of Zn (81 mg/kg) was recorded and USEPA (1999). The concentration of Cu varied from

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5.7 to 6.8 mg/kg. The maximum level of Cu (6.8 mg/kg) Table 6  Correlation matrix of heavy metals in sediment
was noted at Belanagor in monsoon season. These results %Silt %Sand %Clay %Organic %Organic matter
exceeded the permissible limits of FAO (1985). The con- carbon
centrations of Co found ranged from 3.7 to 4.8 mg/kg. The
Pb − 0.515 0.561 − 0.592 − 0.143 − 0.236
highest concentration of Co (4.8 mg/kg) was recorded at
Cd − 0.265 0.331 − 0.509 − 0.345 − 0.376
Belanagor in post-monsoon. It is indicates that the con-
Cr 0.030 − 0.019 − 0.035 0.447 0.426
centrations exceeded the admissible limits (0.05 mg/kg) of
Cu 0.345 − 0.264 − 0.144 0.924 0.925
WHO (2008) and FAO (1985). The concentrations of Cd
Hg − 0.666 0.708 − 0.681 − 0.112 − 0.128
were ranged between BDL and 0.54 mg/kg. The results are
Al − 0.229 0.327 − 0.635 0.391 0.310
below the permissible limits of WHO (2004) and USEPA
Ni − 0.910 0.953 − 0.859 − 0.016 − 0.141
(1999). Hg concentration was recorded below the detection
Co − 0.380 0.488 − 0.795 0.506 0.371
limit in all sediment samples in all seasons. A higher con-
Zn 0.401 − 0.364 0.109 0.721 0.737
centration of these metals was affected by discharges of tex-
Mn − 0.551 0.598 − 0.620 0.297 0.136
tile and paint industries and domestic sewage waste (Datta
and Subramanian 1998; Balkis et al. 2010; Ergul et al. 2008;
Ahmad et al. 2010; Saha and Hossain 2011; Ahmed et al.
2012; Hassan et al. 2015). Table 7  Component matrix of two-factor model with strong to mod-
erate loadings in water
Water
ANOVA findings
Eigenvalues (0.5) Component

Substantial changes in the concentrations of Pb and Hg were PC 1 PC 2

found in sediment in terms of seasons (p < 0.05). However, Pb 1.000 0.020
there are no significant variations (p > 0.05) in Cr, Cu, Al, Cd 0.932 0.364
Ni, Cd, Co, Zn and Mn. In the case of sites, no significant Cr 0.996 0.091
variations were found in the metal concentrations (p > 0.05). Cu 0.965 − 0.263
Hg 0.670 0.742
Al 0.963 − 0.268
Correlation matrix Ni 0.904 − 0.427
Co 0.999 − 0.050
Strong linear relationships were found in Zn versus Cr Zn 0.846 0.533
(0.889), Al versus Pb (0.848), Co versus Al (0.819) and Mn Mn 0.847 − 0.531
versus Co (0.806) at the significance level 0.05. Zn versus Eigenvalue 8.416 1.584
Cu (0.925) showed very strong linear relationship at the %Total variance 84.157 15.843
significance level 0.01. Strong relationships were observed Cumulative % 84.157 100.000
in Cd versus Pb (0.788), Cu versus Cr (0.735) and Mn ver-
sus Ni (0.726) at the significance level of 0.05. In the case
of grain size and metals, good linear relationships were Principal component analysis (PCA)
observed in Ni versus % sand (0.953), Cu versus organic
matter (0.925) and Cu versus organic carbon (0.924) at The principal components analysis (PCA) are the uncor-
the significance level 0.01, and Zn versus % organic car- related variables, obtained by multiplying the original
bon (0.721), Zn versus % organic matter (0.737), Hg versus correlated variables with the eigenvalues. Surface water
% sand (0.708) at the significance level of 0.05. Moderate samples exhibited 100% in total sample variance (Table 7).
relationships were observed in Mn versus % sand (0.598), Total variance of the PCs was 84.157% and 15.843% for
Pb versus % sand (0.561) and Co versus % organic carbon PC 1 and PC 2, respectively. PC 1 is strongly correlated
(0.506) at the significance level 0.05 (Table 6). It suggested with Pb, Cd, Cr, Cu, Al, Ni, Co, Zn and Mn and PC 2 with
that grain size and organic matter and carbon play an impor- Hg. The sources of PC 1 and PC 2 were derived from both
tant role in scavenging heavy metals in sediments (Venkatra- lithogenic and anthropogenic inputs of paint and textile
manan et al. 2015a, b). industries. Two PCs were extracted in sediment. The total
variance of the PCs was 80.325% and 19.675% for PC 1
and PC 2, respectively (Table 8). PC 1 is strongly corre-
lated with Pb, Al, Ni, Co, Mn and % sand and PC 2 with

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Applied Water Science (2019) 9:125 Page 9 of 13 125

Table 8  Component matrix of two-factor model with strong to mod- different seasons. Cluster 1 includes Al and Mn; cluster 2:
erate loadings in sediment Co, Cr and Zn; and cluster 3: Ni, Pb and Cu (Fig. 4). Al
Component and Mn represent strong linkage with minimum cluster
distance that indicates those parameters have influenc-
Eigenvalues (0.6) PC 1 PC 2
ing power during seasonal variations. Parameters that are
Pb 0.998 0.059 assembled together in less distance have a higher attrac-
Cd 0.793 − 0.609 tion with similar identical behaviour during temporal
Cr − 0.977 0.212 variations and also exert a possible effect on each other.
Cu − 0.894 0.448 Furthermore, Co, Cr and Zn have also strong linkage but
Hg 0.609 0.793 lesser than cluster 1 but contribute largely to the environ-
Al 0.962 0.274 ment. Ni, Pb and Cu are under the group of cluster 3 with
Ni 0.948 0.317 minimum distance than cluster 1 and cluster 2 but have
Co 0.998 0.070 effects on the environment. This is revealed that these are
Zn − 0.986 0.169 affected by untreated industrial effluents from paint and
Mn 0.998 0.059 textile and also agricultural inputs and domestic wastes
%Silt − 0.892 − 0.452 (Chung et al. 2016). In the case of sediment, cluster 1
%Sand 0.909 0.416 includes Cd and Hg; cluster 2: %OC and %OM; cluster
%Clay − 0.978 − 0.210 3: Co, Pb, Cr, Cu, Ni and %clay; and cluster 4: %silt, Mn,
%OC − 0.580 0.815 Zn and %sand (Fig. 5). Cd and Hg denote strong linkage
%OM − 0.772 0.635 with minimum cluster distance that designates those met-
Eigenvalue 12.049 2.95 als to have influencing power during seasonal variations.
%Total variance 80.325 19.675 Heavy metals that are assembled together in less distance
Cumulative % 80.325 100.00 have a higher attraction with similar identical behaviour
during temporal variations and have a possible effect on
each other. %OC and %OM formed cluster 2 with mini-
Hg and % OC. This is due to the sources of industrial and mum cluster distance. Moreover, Co, Pb, Cr, Cu, Ni and
agricultural effluents. %clay have also strong linkage but lesser than cluster 1
and cluster 2 but contribute largely in the environment.
Cluster analysis (CA) %Silt, Mn, Zn and %sand are under the group of cluster 4
with minimum distance than clusters 1, 2 and 3 but have
CA was executed using square root and Bray–Curtis simi- effects on the environment. This reflected the influence of
larity to show the similarity among the parameters that effluents discharged from industries.
contribute hugely to water pollution. From the output of
the cluster analysis total, three clusters were found during

Fig. 3  Graph showing mean

concentrations (mg/kg) of heavy
metals in sediment during three
seasons

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Fig. 4  Dendrogram showing the percentage of similarity among heavy metals during different seasons

Fig. 5  Dendrogram showing the

percentage of similarity among
heavy metals and soil quality
variables in sediment during
different seasons [OC = organic
carbon; OM = organic matter]

Conclusions in mg/l and Al > Mn > Zn > Ni > Pb > Cr > Cu > Co > C
d > Hg in mg/kg, respectively. It suggested that effluents
Classical multivariate statistical analysis was used to eval- were discharged from paint and textile industries, irriga-
uate the contamination sources of heavy metals at the Old tion and domestic wastes and also minor input from geo-
Brahmaputra River. The observed order of heavy metal genic sources. Most of the metals exceeded the permis-
concentrations in surface water and sediments is as fol- sible limit set by the standards. PCA suggested that the
lows: Al > Mn > Ni > Co > Cu > Pb > Zn > Cr > Cd > Hg contribution of metals in water and sediments was derived
from the anthropogenic origin in addition to lithogenic

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Applied Water Science (2019) 9:125 Page 11 of 13 125

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