Notice of RetractionSpatial Distribution and Accumulation of Heavy Metals in Surface Sediments from a City River in Pearl River Delta, China

Notice of Retraction

After careful and considered review of the content of this paper by a duly constituted expert committee, this paper has been found to be in violation of IEEE´s Publication Principles.

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The distribution, enrichment and accumulation of heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn) in the sediment of Lishui River, South China, were studied in order to investigate the metal contamination due to urbanization and economic development in catchments of Lishui River. Sediment samples from ten locations in Lishui River were collected in September 2008 and characterized for metal content, total nitrogen, total phosphorous, total organic matter and water content. Result showed that heavy metal concentrations in surface sediments had a range of 0.68-3.68 mg·kg^-1 for Cd, 85.6-517.0 mg·kg^-1 for Cr, 169.2-667.5 mg·kg^-1 for Cu, 26.9-97.9 mg·kg^-1 for Pb, 40.5-203.0 mg·kg^-1 for Ni and 230-1970 mg·kg^-1 for Zn. The mean concentrations of Zn, Cr, Ni and Cu in sediment of Lishui River had highest level among City Rivers in Pearl River Delta. The results of metal enrichment factor (EF) and geo-accumulation indices showed that Cu and Zn present moderately or strongly contamination in the studied area. Moreover, studied metals concentrations had insignificant correlation with Fe, which suggested that anthropogenic discharge is the most important source of metals in Lishui River. Results would be helpful to develop strategies for sediment remediation and pollution control.