Content of toxic elements in water and macroalgae of the Argun River (Russia) basin water courses
A.P. Kuklin, G.Ts. Tsybekmitova
Section: Chemistry of natural environments and objects
The Argun River, as a transboundary stream flow between Russia and China, is an indicator of the existing pollution
in its catchment area. The estimated content of 12 toxic elements in water and in macro-algae of eight tributaries
of the Russian part of the basin of the Argun and in the Argun (seven sections), showed the greatest pollution of
the waters of the river Srednyaya Borzya. The content of toxic elements in the water of the Srednyaya Borzya, below
the gold washing areas, is (mkg/dm3): Mn – 171, Fe – 4994, Cu – 66, Zn – 102, As – 7, Mo – 3, Hg – 0.02, Pb – 13,
which is several times higher than maximum permissible concentration of these metals. The high content of Fe and
Mn among heavy metals in the rivers of the basin is connected with the specific features of the rocks in the study area.
The marked toxic elements can be transported with solid runoff over long distances, settle in bottom sediments, thereby
subjecting stream flows to secondary pollution. For most of the stream flows, it was exceeded the number of toxic
elements in Cladophora fracta from the basin of the river Argun, relative to the background concentrations, typical
for the water bodies of Zabaikalsky Krai. The greatest differences were recorded in samples of algae from the reserve
reservoir of Krasnokamensk (Zn, As, Ni), in the river Srednyaya Borzya (Mo, Cd, Pb), in the river Kalga (Mn, Co,
Mo). In the reservoir of Krasnokamensk in wintertime, water is pumped from the river Argun, which has the highest
mineralization in this period. The obtained results can be used in monitoring of water pollution by toxic elements and
for making managerial decisions.
ISSN 1995-4301
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