Department of Organic Food Quality and Food Culture, Faculty of Organic Agricultural Sciences, University of Kassel, 37213 Witzenhausen, Germany.
School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences, Agricultural University of Georgia, Tbilisi 0159, Georgia.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018 Mar 28;15(4):621. doi: 10.3390/ijerph15040621.
Water quality contamination by heavy metal pollution has severe effects on public health. In the Mashavera River Basin, an important agricultural area for the national food system in Georgia (e.g., vegetable, dairy and wine production), water contamination has multiple influences on the regional and country-wide health. With new industrial activities in the region, sediment extraction, and discharge of untreated wastewater into the river, its tributaries and irrigation canals, a comprehensive study of water quality was greatly needed. This study examined sediment and water samples from 17 sampling sites in the Mashavera River Basin during the high and low precipitation seasons. The results were characterized utilizing the Geo-accumulation Index (I), Enrichment Factor (EF), Pollution Load index (PLI), Contamination Factor (CF) and Metal Index (MI). According to the CFs, Cu > Cd > Zn > Pb > Fe > Mn > Ni > Cr > Hg is the descending order for the content of all observed heavy metals in sediments collected in both seasons. Fe and As were additionally examined in water samples. Overall, As, Cd and Pb, all highly toxic elements, were found in high concentrations in downstream sample sites. According to these results, comprehensive monitoring with narrow intervals between sampling dates, more sample sites along all waterways, and proximate observation of multiple trace metal elements are highly recommended. Moreover, as the part of the water quality governance system, an immediate and sustainable collective action by all stakeholders to control the pollution level is highly recommended, as this issue is linked to the security of the national food system and poses a local public health risk.
重金属污染导致的水质污染对公众健康造成严重影响。在格鲁吉亚重要的农业区马舍维拉河流域（例如蔬菜、奶制品和葡萄酒生产），水污染对区域和全国的健康都有多种影响。随着该地区新的工业活动的开展，沉积物的开采，以及未经处理的废水排入河流、支流和灌溉渠，非常需要对水质进行全面研究。本研究在高、低降水季节对马舍维拉河流域的 17 个采样点的沉积物和水样进行了检测。结果利用地质累积指数（I）、富集因子（EF）、污染负荷指数（PLI）、污染系数（CF）和金属指数（MI）进行了特征描述。根据 CFs，Cu > Cd > Zn > Pb > Fe > Mn > Ni > Cr > Hg 是两个季节采集的沉积物中所有观察到的重金属含量递减顺序。此外，还对水样中的 Fe 和 As 进行了检测。总的来说，As、Cd 和 Pb 等所有高毒性元素在下游采样点的浓度都很高。根据这些结果，建议进行全面监测，采样日期之间的间隔要窄，沿着所有水道增加更多的采样点，并对多个痕量金属元素进行近距离观察。此外，作为水质治理系统的一部分，建议所有利益攸关方立即采取可持续的集体行动来控制污染水平，因为这个问题与国家食品安全系统有关，并对当地公共健康构成风险。
