Characteristics of Heavy Metals and Their Evaluation in Sediments from Middle and Lower Reaches of the Huaihe River

We have collected 18 samples corresponding to 18 locations in the middle and lower reaches of the Huaihe River. The sediment samples were tested for their pH level, percentage of solids, organic matter and five heavy metals (Cr, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb). The average concentrations of Cr, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb of the 18 sampling locations were respectively 56.1, 22.2, 70.0, 0.17 and 20.4 μg/g. Compared with their background values, the average concentrations of Zn and Cu in sediment samples from the Huaihe River were slightly higher, while the average concentrations of Cr and Pb were slightly lower. The concentration of Cd in all sediment samples was higher than its background value, while the average concentration of Cd in all sediment samples was about twice the amount of the background value. The concentration of the five heavy metals was lower than that of the Yangtze River. A correlation analysis revealed that heavy metals have similar geochemical feautures. The geo-accumulation index (Igeo) was used to evaluate the degree of pollution of the Huaihe River sediments. The index reveals that the sediment samples are largely ranked from zero pollution to no to medium pollution.