Spatial distribution, sources, and risk assessment of major ions ad traceelements in rainwater at Puchuncaví Valley, Chile: The impact of industrialactivities

Özet

This article presents the results of a study on the chemical composition of rainwater as an environmental pol-lution factor in the surroundings of the Puchuncaví - Ventanas industrial complex (V Region, Chile), with themain objectives of assessing acidification and neutralisation factors, measuring elemental pollutant levels in-cluding calculation of enrichment factors and pollution sources assignment, and assessing the risk derived fromelemental pollutant loads in rainwater, both for human use and natural ecosystems. Forty-seven weekly rain-water samples were collected during the winter (May–August) 2010 (24 samples) and 2011 (23 samples) at threesampling location with different degree of impact from the main emission sources. The pH, conductivity andmajor ions were analyzed by ion chromatography, as well as 18 traces and main elements by ICP-MS. Mostrainwater samples had pH below 5.6, indicating the risk of acidification, but neutralisation factors, mainly byNa+and NH4+were also noticed. The elements emitted by anthropogenic activities had significant enrichmentvalues in the rainwater of the area studied, and the principal component analysis (PCA) identified four sourcesrelated to the metallurgical industry–crustal material, marine material, traffic -industry and industrial activ-ities. The risk assessment showed that As content in rainwater is above the WHO guideline value for drinkingwater at some points in the study area. The contribution of Pb and Cd in rainwater to the soil critical loads turnedout to be relatively low, with a maximum of 22.1% for Pb in the vicinity of the industrial complex