Status and Trends of Sediment Metal Pollution in Bohai Sea, China

Abstract

This paper summarizes the advancement in the Bohai Sea sediment metal pollution studies in China. It includes spatial metal distributions, anthropogenic sources, and pollutant transport as well as factors affecting concentrations and potential ecological risk due to metal contamination. The results indicate that the pollution in the Bohai Sea is serious in coastal areas and, if no protection procedures are implemented, the situation can become worse with the economic development in the Bohai Sea rim. It is found that the metal distributions are quite different due to different pollutant sources in the coastal areas as well as along-shore current transport. The study shows that metal pollution is the most serious in the northern Liaodong Bay, followed by Bohai Bay and Laizhou Bay. The pollution in these three bays is much more serious than that in the central basin of the Bohai Sea. Hg, Cd, and Pb are the predominant pollutants commonly found in the Bohai Sea although the degree of the pollution varies with different regions of the Bohai Sea. Finally, the paper points out the current environmental concerns with the Bohai Sea sediment metal pollution.