Institute F.-A. Forel, University of Geneva, Versoix, Switzerland.
Sci Total Environ. 2011 Dec 15;412-413:239-47. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2011.09.025. Epub 2011 Nov 1.
This research first focuses on the spatial and temporal patterns of heavy metals from contrasting environments (highly polluted to deepwater sites) of Lake Geneva. The mercury (Hg) and lead (Pb) records from two deepwater sites show that the heavy metal variations before the industrial period are primarily linked to natural weathering input of trace elements. By opposition, the discharge of industrial treated wastewaters into Vidy Bay of Lake Geneva during the second part of the 20th century, involved the sedimentation of highly metal-contaminated sediments in the area surrounding the WWTP outlet pipe discharge. Eventually, a new Pb isotope record of sediments from Lake Lucerne identifies the long-term increasing anthropogenic lead pollution after ca. 1500, probably due to the development of metallurgical activities during the High Middle Ages. These data furthermore allows to compare the recent anthropogenic sources of water pollution from three of the largest freshwater lakes of Western Europe (lakes Geneva, Lucerne, and Constance). High increases in Pb and Hg highlight the regional impact of industrial pollution after ca. 1750-1850, and the decrease of metal pollution in the 1980s due to the effects of remediation strategies such as the implementation of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). However, at all the studied sites, the recent metal concentrations remain higher than pre-industrial levels. Moreover, the local scale pollution data reveal two highly contaminated sites (>100 μg Pb/g dry weight sediment) by industrial activities, during the late-19th and early-20th centuries (Lake Lucerne) and during the second part of the 20th century (Vidy Bay of Lake Geneva). Overall, the regional scale pollution history inferred from the three large and deep perialpine lakes points out at the pollution of water systems by heavy metals during the last two centuries due to the discharge of industrial effluents.
本研究首先关注来自日内瓦湖对比环境（高度污染到深水区域）的重金属的时空分布模式。来自两个深水区域的汞（Hg）和铅（Pb）记录表明，工业前重金属的变化主要与微量元素的自然风化输入有关。相反，20 世纪后半叶，工业处理废水排入日内瓦湖的 Vidy 湾，导致 WWTP 排放口周围区域沉积了高度金属污染的沉积物。最终，卢塞恩湖沉积物的新的 Pb 同位素记录确定了大约 1500 年后长期人为铅污染的增加，可能是由于中世纪后期冶金活动的发展。这些数据还允许比较来自西欧三个最大的淡水湖（日内瓦湖、卢塞恩湖和康斯坦茨湖）的近期人为水污染的来源。Pb 和 Hg 的高浓度突显了大约 1750-1850 年后工业污染的区域影响，以及 20 世纪 80 年代由于修复策略（如实施废水处理厂）的影响，金属污染减少。然而，在所有研究的地点，最近的金属浓度仍然高于工业前的水平。此外，局部尺度的污染数据显示，在 19 世纪末和 20 世纪初（卢塞恩湖）以及 20 世纪后半叶（日内瓦湖的 Vidy 湾），工业活动造成了两个高度污染的地点（干重沉积物中>100μg Pb/g）。总体而言，从三个大而深的阿尔卑斯湖推断出的区域尺度污染历史表明，由于工业废水的排放，过去两个世纪水系受到重金属的污染。
