Reduced pollution level and ecological risk of mercury-polluted sediment in a alkali-chlorine factory's brine water storage pond after corrective actions: A case study in Southern Taiwan

Huang, WY; Huang, CW; Li, YL; Huang, TP; Lin, C; Ngo, HH; Bui, XT

Reduced pollution level and ecological risk of mercury-polluted sediment in a alkali-chlorine factory's brine water storage pond after corrective actions: A case study in Southern Taiwan

Huang, WY Huang, CW Li, YL Huang, TP Lin, C Ngo, HH Bui, XT

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Publisher:: Elsevier
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Environmental Technology and Innovation, 2023, 29, pp. 103003
Issue Date:: 2023-02-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Huang, WY
dc.contributor.author	Huang, CW
dc.contributor.author	Li, YL
dc.contributor.author	Huang, TP
dc.contributor.author	Lin, C
dc.contributor.author	Ngo, HH
dc.contributor.author	Bui, XT
dc.date.accessioned	2024-03-08T07:02:21Z
dc.date.available	2024-03-08T07:02:21Z
dc.date.issued	2023-02-01
dc.identifier.citation	Environmental Technology and Innovation, 2023, 29, pp. 103003
dc.identifier.issn	2352-1864
dc.identifier.issn	2352-1864
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/176381
dc.description.abstract	Mercury is a highly toxic pollutant and persistent in the sediment, which highlights the needs for remediation of sediment Hg pollution. However, the effects of remedial actions on the pollution and ecological risk of Hg in sediment are less investigated. Therefore, this study conducted an environmental risk assessment before and after corrective actions in the brine water storage pond of a closed alkali-chlorine plant with high Hg pollution in the sediment. The results showed that the accumulation of Hg in the sediment (2.59–443 mg/kg), fish and crabs (1.10–8.54 mg/kg) in the polluted pond was higher than the regulation limit in Taiwan. After implementing the corrective actions such as institutional/engineering control and remediation, we found that the Hg concentration and pollution factor (CF), in the sediment were significantly decreased by 74% and 73% (p=0.02), respectively. In addition, the geoaccumulation index (I-geo) were decreased to lower pollution class after corrective actions (p=0.009). The risk related indices such as potential ecological risk index (RI) and risk quotient (RQ) also showed significant decreases (p=0.03) after corrective actions (71% and 73%, respectively). Although the values of pollution and risk indices were still high after remediation, the results of this study demonstrated the effectiveness of corrective actions on amelioration of sediment Hg pollution. It suggests that corrective actions should be continuously implemented to reduce the pollution and risk levels in all aspects to an acceptable level for stakeholders.
dc.language	en
dc.publisher	Elsevier
dc.relation.ispartof	Environmental Technology and Innovation
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1016/j.eti.2022.103003
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject	0502 Environmental Science and Management, 0907 Environmental Engineering, 1002 Environmental Biotechnology
dc.title	Reduced pollution level and ecological risk of mercury-polluted sediment in a alkali-chlorine factory's brine water storage pond after corrective actions: A case study in Southern Taiwan
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	29
utslib.for	0502 Environmental Science and Management
utslib.for	0907 Environmental Engineering
utslib.for	1002 Environmental Biotechnology
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology/School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Strength - CTWW - Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater Treatment
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
dc.date.updated	2024-03-08T07:02:20Z
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	29

Abstract:

Mercury is a highly toxic pollutant and persistent in the sediment, which highlights the needs for remediation of sediment Hg pollution. However, the effects of remedial actions on the pollution and ecological risk of Hg in sediment are less investigated. Therefore, this study conducted an environmental risk assessment before and after corrective actions in the brine water storage pond of a closed alkali-chlorine plant with high Hg pollution in the sediment. The results showed that the accumulation of Hg in the sediment (2.59–443 mg/kg), fish and crabs (1.10–8.54 mg/kg) in the polluted pond was higher than the regulation limit in Taiwan. After implementing the corrective actions such as institutional/engineering control and remediation, we found that the Hg concentration and pollution factor (CF), in the sediment were significantly decreased by 74% and 73% (p=0.02), respectively. In addition, the geoaccumulation index (I-geo) were decreased to lower pollution class after corrective actions (p=0.009). The risk related indices such as potential ecological risk index (RI) and risk quotient (RQ) also showed significant decreases (p=0.03) after corrective actions (71% and 73%, respectively). Although the values of pollution and risk indices were still high after remediation, the results of this study demonstrated the effectiveness of corrective actions on amelioration of sediment Hg pollution. It suggests that corrective actions should be continuously implemented to reduce the pollution and risk levels in all aspects to an acceptable level for stakeholders.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/176381