Potential Sources of Heavy Metals in Sediments of an Urban‒Agricultural Watershed and Relationship with Land Use Using a Statistical Approach

This study verified pollution levels through evaluation of the Sediment Quality Guidelines (SQGs), load index (PLI), and potential ecological risk (PERI) by analyzing concentrations heavy metals in sediments an urban‒agricultural watershed Yeongsan River basin, South Korea. Statistical analyses were performed to determine relationships between land use, sources identified. For spatial distributions, Pb, Zn, Cu, Cd, Hg highest at mid-upstream, but As, Cr, Ni similar most sites. The polluted sites, which showed toxicity toward benthic organisms comparison SQGs, frequently observed mid-upstream. Moreover, PLI PERI evaluations also confirmed high anthropogenic mid-upstream sites with metal pollutions correlations urban distribution, implying a close relationship impacts such as population density industrial complexes. that closely related use. These findings suggest areas are highly likely cause point or non-point domestic sewage wastewater flow into rivers.