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Pollution status and risk assessment of trace elements in Portuguese water, soils, sediments, and associated biota: a trend analysis from the 80s to 2021

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Abstract

Pollution of water bodies and sediments/soils by trace elements remains a global threat and a serious environmental hazard to biodiversity and human’s health. Globalization and industrialization resulted in the increase and availability of these substances in the environment posing unpredictable adverse effects to living organisms. To determine pollution status and risk contamination by trace elements, data available in the literature of the last 40 years on trace elements occurrence in three environmental matrices (water bodies, sediments/soils, and biota) from Continental Portugal were collected (about 90 studies). Data were compared to water and sediment quality guidelines to assess potential ecological risks. Most environmentally relevant hazardous elements include Zn, Cu, Cd, Pb, and As. Various studies found trace elements at levels higher than those considered safe by environmental guidelines. In surface waters, Al, Zn, Se, and Ag were found above aquatic life limits in about 60% of the reviewed papers, while Cu, Zn, and As exceed those values in more than 60% of mining waters. Hg and Cd in sediments from mining areas exceeded aquatic life limits and potential ecological risk showed extremely high risk for most of the elements. The data compiled in this review is very heterogenous, varying in terms of sampling schemes, trace elements analysed, and spatiotemporal settings. This heterogenicity leads to data differences that make meaningful comparisons difficult. Nevertheless, the compilation of scattered environmental spatial and temporal trace elements data, of either natural sources or human activity as well as the ultimate effect on biological systems, is of the upmost importance to broaden its knowledge, risk assessment, and implementation of mitigation measures.

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This work was supported by CESPU project MYCOBIOENV-PFT-IINFACTS-2019.

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  1. TOXRUN – Toxicology Research Unit, University Institute of Health Sciences, CESPU, CRL, 4585-116, Gandra, Portugal

    Cristina M. C. M. Couto & Cláudia Ribeiro

  2. LAQV / REQUIMTE, Departamento de Ciências Químicas, Laboratório de Química Aplicada, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade do Porto, Rua de Jorge Viterbo Ferreira, 228, 4050-313, Porto, Portugal

    Cristina M. C. M. Couto

  3. Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental (CIIMAR/CIMAR), Universidade do Porto, Edifício do Terminal de Cruzeiros do Porto de Leixões, Av. General Norton de Matos s/n, 4050-208, Matosinhos, Portugal

    Cláudia Ribeiro

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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by Cristina Couto and Cláudia Ribeiro. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Cristina Couto and Cláudia Ribeiro and both authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Cristina M. C. M. Couto.

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Couto, C.M.C.M., Ribeiro, C. Pollution status and risk assessment of trace elements in Portuguese water, soils, sediments, and associated biota: a trend analysis from the 80s to 2021. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 48057–48087 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-20699-9

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