IJERPH, Vol. 16, Pages 4052: Anthropogenic Rare Earth Elements: Gadolinium in a Small Catchment in Guizhou Province, Southwest China

IJERPH, Vol. 16, Pages 4052: Anthropogenic Rare Earth Elements: Gadolinium in a Small Catchment in Guizhou Province, Southwest China International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health doi: 10.3390/ijerph16204052 Authors: Jue Zhang Zhuhong Wang Qixin Wu Yanling An Huipeng Jia Yuanyi Shen Rare earth elements (REEs), known as “industrial vitamins”, are widely used in medical treatment, industry, agriculture, etc. However, with the increasing demand for REEs, excess REEs, such as gadolinium (Gd), are considered micropollutants in the environment. In this paper, the distributions of dissolved REEs were analyzed in three small streams, in order to determine the extent and occurrence of Gd anomalies. The shale-normalized REE patterns in the three streams were less smooth with heavy REEs higher than light REEs, for a weak reaction of the heavy REE complexes. A negative Ce (cerium) anomaly and positive samarium (Sm) and europium (Eu) anomalies were observed in the three streams and the negative Ce anomaly was affected by the pH of the alkaline rivers. However, a positive Gd anomaly was found in only a typical urban small stream, Jinzhong. With a population of approximately 60,000, Jinzhong runs by a hospital and through wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The concentrations of Gd in Jinzhong ranged from 1.54 to 86.65 ng/L with high anthropogenic Gd proportions (63.64%–98.07%). Anthropogenic Gd showed significa...
Source: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Article Source Type: research