Original ArticlesRisk assessment of hazardous materials loading into four large lakes in China: A new hydrodynamic indicator based on EFDC

- A hazardous materials risk indicator (HMRI) was proposed to assess risks in large lakes.
- HMRI used a hydrodynamic model to evaluate the impacts of HMs loading into the large lakes.
- HMRI can assist water managers to minimize the harmful effects of HMs on lakes.

Many large lakes worldwide have been threatened by hazardous materials (HMs) pollution. A hazardous materials risk indicator (HMRI) was developed to assess the environmental risks due to soluble and conservation HMs loading from nearshore areas into a large lake. HMRI was calculated based on HMs transport simulation in the lake using a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model, i.e., Environmental Fluid Dynamics Code (EFDC). The developed indicator was applied to four large freshwater lakes (Lakes Chaohu, Poyang, Hongze and Taihu) in China with severe HMs pollution. The assessment results in these lakes clearly showed spatial heterogeneity of HMRI values for nearshore cells, mainly affected by water velocity. This study demonstrated an application of the hydrodynamic model (EFDC) in developing HMRI for assessing the environmental risks due to HMs loading into four large lakes in China. The assessment results provided water managers with some benefits in the context of HMs pollution risk management, such as identifying a better location for HMs loading into a large lake based on the distribution of the HMRI values.