Water Research Vol. 14, pp.

975 to 1001 [X)43-1354/80/0801-0975502,00/0

qD Pergamon Press Ltd 1980. Printed in Great Britain

AN ECOLOGICAL RISK INDEX FOR AQUATIC

POLLUTION CONTROL. A SEDIMENTOLOGICAL
APPROACH
L , ~ s H~KANSON
The National Swedish Environment Protection Board, Water Quality Laboratory Uppsala,
Box 8043, 750 08 Uppsala, Sweden

(Received June 1979)

Alitraet--The aim of this work has been to penetrate one of many possible avenues towards a potential
ecological risk index to be used as a diagnostic tool for water pollution control purposes, i.e. to sort out
which lakes/basins and substances should be given special attention. The work is based on the thesis
that a sedimentoiogical risk index for toxic substances in limnic systems should at iea~,account for the
following four requirements:
1. The concentration requirement
2. The number requirement

Cd= C] ffi --;

iffil iffil el

where

the degree of contamination;

C ~ = the contamination factor;
E'~-t -- the mean content of the substance in question (i) from superficial sedimed~ (0--1 ern) from
accumulation areas. At least 5 samples, which provide an even area cover of the lake/basin
should be taken.
C ' = the standard preindustrial reference level" determined from various European and American
lakes to be (in ppm): PCB ffi 0.01, Hg = 0.25, Cd ffi 1.0, As ffi 15, Cu = 50, Pb ffi 70, Cr ffi 90
and Zn = 175. These are the substances discussed in this approach.
3. The toxic factor requirement
4. The sensitivity requirement
8 8
R I = ~ E r ' f f i ~ Tr'.C:
i=1 t •l

where
RI ffi the requested potential ecological risk index for the basin/lake;
Er ~ = the potential ecological risk factor for the given substance (i);
Tr' ffi the "toxic-response" factor for the given substance, i.e. PCB = 40. BPI/5, Hg ffi 40' 5/BPI,
Cd = 30" ~/5/~/BPI, As = 10, Pb ffi Cu = 5- ,~/5/~/BPI, Cr ffi 2" ~5/.,/BPI and Zn =
1. ,j5/,¢"BPI, where BPI ffi the bioproduction index.
The results have been tested on 15 Swedish lakes representing a wide range in terms of size, poilu-
tional status, trophic status etc.

INTRODUCTION AND AIM OF THE WORK
It is indeed no problem to find research topics within
the aquatic sciences which are both practically/
economically and intellectually/scientifically interest-
ing and relevant. One such research area, which is of
increasing significance, concerns the very complicated
problem to establish (both quantitatively and quali-
tatively) ecological effects in the aquatic milieu from
various types of contaminants and to develop valid,
simple and rapid indicator systems, which may be
used with acceptable accuracy in environmental pol-
lution control. There is a growing awareness in the
975
industrialized world today of the necessity of estab-
lishing such ecologically valid indicator systems, and
although a great deal of research is done within this
topic, there is a very large gap between what is done
and what should and could be done.
The purpose of this work is to discuss, from a prin-
cipal point of view, an approach, a m o d e l for an
ecological risk index to be used in aquatic (limnic)
environmental pollution control, i.e. a risk index
which provides a fast and sirr~vle quantitative value
on the potential ecological risi~ of a given contami-
nation situation in a given lake or fresh water system.
976 LARS H AKAN~)"-

The subsequent model has several limitations and
presuppositions which should be stressed already
from the very beginning:
The approach concerns only limnic systems.
The desired risk index must of necessity be a crude
instrument. However, the philosophy has been that a
blunt battle-axe is better than no weapon at all, and
in this context it may be appropriate to cite some
lines from "Water Quality Criteria" (EPA, 1972, p.
179):
"Recommendations
Since forms of species of metals in water may
change with shifts in the water quality, and since the
toxicity to aquatic life may concurrently change in
as yet unpredictable ways, it is recommended that
water quality criteria for a given metal be based on
the total amount of it in the water, regardless of the
chemical state or form of the metal, except that
settleable solids should be excluded from the analy-
sis (Standard Methods, 1971)."
To meet the requested demands for accuracy, sim-
plicity and rapidity, the risk index discussed in this
context will be based exclusively on sediment data.
There are several reasons why a focus on the sedi-
ments may be fruitful in this case: (1) data from the
sediments provide time-integrated mean values of
considerable time-stability compared to data on pol-
lutants from, for example, water samples, (2) sediment
samples are comparatively easy to collect in the field,
(3) the sample representativity in time and space may
be evaluated in a rather simple way, and i4) the
adopted analytical procedure can generally pro,,ide
both cheaper and better data from sediments than
from, for example, water samples, because the concen-
trations are generally much higher in the sediments.
The aim of the approach is that the requested risk
index should express the potential ecological risk of a
given contamination. The focus is on toxic substances.
i.e. substances that give rise to toxic effects on various
biological levels (tissue-organ-organism-system), e.g.
by disturbing the permeability in the cell membrane,
the formation of hormones, or the structure and toro
mation of regulating proteins. Consequently. we will
primarily discuss elements like Ag, Be, Cd, Co, Cr,
Cu, Hg, Mo, Ni, Pb, Se, Sn, V, Zn, substances like
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and well-
known environmental poisons like PCB, DDT etc,
and will largely avoid nutrient elements (N, P, orga-
nic-C), which may influence water quality in quite a
different way, which in fact often cancel out, or
balance the effect of many toxic substance (metals).
It should also be noted that the desired risk index
primarily is intended to express the threat towards
man by increased concentrations of toxic substances
in fish for consumption. This is easy to say, but in
practice as well as in theory, it is very difficult indeed

Table 1. Factors affecting the toxicity of metals in aquatic systems (modified after Belier et al.. 197T)

/ Ion
Complex
. f Inorganic

~
Soluble ~ Chelate
Molecule
I. Metal--Form ~ O r g a n i c / Colloid
Particulate ~ Sorption
Suspended

Synergism
2. Presence of other substances ~ Addition
- Antagonism

~ Geographical position JJJ~

Geology of drainage area , ~ - - " ~
/•/Temperature
pH
Dissolved oxygen
Light
Transparency
3. Water system Morphometry of basin ~ - Salinity
Hydrological conditions "~,,~ Alkalinity
~"- Trophic level
Level of bioproduction
Residence time

Age
~ ~ Size
_ , ~ Sex
4. Biological system ~ Food supply
~ ~ " - Activity
~ ' - System of protection
~-" Adaptation to metals
Ecological status
 An ecological risk index for aquatic pollution control 977

Table 2. Metal associations in sediments (from FiSrstner. 1977a)

Mineral detritus Metal bonding mostly

(mainly silicates) in inert positions

Heavy metal Precipitation as a

hydroxides result of exceeding
carbonates solubility proeuct
sulphides in the water Course

Physico-sorption
p H ~ lelectr., attraction)
Clay minerals
(sorptionl Chemical sorption
(exchange H" in SiOH,
AIOH and AI(OHhl

Physico-sorption
p H / /
Bitumen. lipids Chemical sorp.tion
Humic substances (COOH-, Ol-i~-groups)
Residual organics
Complexes

~ Physico-sorption

p H / - - Chemical sorption
Hydrous Fe/Mn-
oxides Co-precipitation
by exceeding the
solubility product

Physico-sorpt~on
pH ~ - - Pseudomorphosis
Calcium carbonate [ (supply and time)

Co-precipitation

to establish toxicologically valid risk limits. The enor-
mous literature on mercury may illustrate the dimen-
sion of this problem (see NHT, 1970 Taylor, 1975). In
USA and Canada, for example, the "blacklisting"
limit is 0.5 mg methyl-Hg per kg pike. In Sweden, the
authorities have decided that mercury is half as dan-
gerous, here the "blacklisting" limit is 1.0 mg/kg. In
second place, the risk index should also express the
potential ecological hazard of a contamination in a
wider biological sense, i.e. the risk of destroying the
"weakest links in the ecological chain" which consti-
tutes and characterizes a given lake. This is, naturally,
even more complicated. A schematic illustration of
the complexity which is involved when discussing the
toxicity of various substances in aquatic systems is
given in Table 1. A literature survey in the topic has
recently been published by Bianck et al. (1978). The
first order governing factors which determine the eco-
logical effect or risk with a given metal pollution are:
what substance (metal)? presence of other substances?
what lake (water system)? what biological system? If
we focus on metals in sediments, which is of primary
interest in this context, then Table 2 will illustrate the
processes and complications involved.
Since any risk index will depend on the choice of
the analytical technique, and since different prep-
aration and analytical techniques may yield different
w.R. 14 8 - D
results, one should stress the necessity of using a well-
established standard procedure when determining the
sediment concentrations o f the given substances.
Intercalibration and standar~ltzation work has been
done in several countries; for Scandinavia see, e.g.
Zink-Nielsen (1975) or SIS (1978).
It should be noted that one has to use a sediment
sampler which provides a minimum of disturbance
even for very loose deposits (see e.g. Hhkanson, 1973;
Axelsson & Hhkanson, 1978).
It must also be stressed that this work is not pri-
marily addressed to the sedimentological experts, but
rather to ecologists or limnologists in general with
interest in toxical risks, and i6 administrators work-
ing with environmental pollution control. Conse-
quently, some of the sedimentological issues discussed
are rather well-known to the professional sedimento-
logist, but I have chosen to include a thorough dis-
cussion, since it is a major point that the sediments
may be regarded as a source of valuable ecological
information and that this information can be used
outside the normal sedimentological frames of refer-
ence.
WORKING HYPOTHESIS
The working hypothesis of this work is that the
potential ecological risk index (the requested RI-
93'8 LAR.S H \KANBON
value! lot a given lake or defined sub-basin may be
expressed from the following four premises:
1. The concentration requirement which empha-
sizes that the Rl-value should increase when the sedi-
ment contamination increases. This may be revealed
by a comparison between preindustrial deposits from
deep sediment levels and recent deposits from super-
ficial sediments.
2. The number requirements which states that a
lake or a sub-basin polluted by numerous substances
should have a higher Rl-value than an area contami-
nated by only a few substances.
If we have an index that meets these two require-
ments in an acceptable way, then this index would be
a good instrument to describe the contamination
status of a given area (what elements contaminate,
what concentrations, etcl. However. this is only the
first step on the road towards a risk index, which
should be related to ecological effects and ecological
risks.
When such an index is required one must also con-
sider:
3. The toxicity factor requirement which implies
that the risk index shbuld account for the fact that
various substances have different toxicological effects:
some are highly toxic, others slightly toxic. There is a
very wide range here--from extremely poisonous sub-
stances like PCB and mercury via lead and copper to
iron. The requested Rl-value should differentiate
between mildly, moderately and very toxic substances.
4. The sensitivity requirement which means that
the risk index should account for the fact that various
lakes and water systems do not have the same sensi-
tivity to toxic substances. In waters of low pH and
bioproductivity, for example fish tend to have higher
mercury concentrations than in waters of comparable
Hg-contamination bul with more neutral pH and
higher bioproductivity.
Now, based on readily accessible sedimentological
data, we will discuss one possible avenue towards an
ecological risk index for aquatic pollution control,
which takes these four requirements into account.
T h e concentration requirement
In this section we will not discuss possible effects of
bioturbation, diffusion, compaction etc on the vertical
gradient of elements in lake sediments. The focus will
be on a comparison between old, preindustrial depo-
sits and recent, superftcial deposits.
The following problems concerning the concen-
tration requirement must, however, be discussed.
l. The problem of the bottom dynamic situation
lerosion-transportation-accumulationt,see Hhkanson
(1977a,b). In this context, accumulation areas prevail
where fine material (medium silt and finer) is being
deposited continuously; transportation areas domin-
ate where fine material is deposited discontinuously,
i.e. periods of accumulation and transportation are
altering: erosional areas dominate where no iine
material is deposited, in such areas there may be
hard bottoms (rocksl, or very consolidated glacial
clays (for example, varved ctayt, or coarse bottom ma-
terials isand, pebbtesi. Since we will use sedimenl data
to establish a risk index, it is obviously not suitable to
utilize material from transportation or erosional
zones, because such deposits may be very old.
complex and impossible to interpret. Consequently.
all data must emanate from accumulation areas. This
implies that one has to avoid sediments from the fol-
lowing environments: rivers and other similar high
energy environments where very turbulent and/or
hydrodynamically complex situations dominate;
between islands where the topographical bottle-neck
effect may be apparent: areas close to river mouths.
where the bottom dynamic situation may be governed
by river action and where bottom conditions often
show considerable variablity in time and space; areas
on sub-aquatic slopes with inclinations greater than
4-5°0 (height vs length), where fine recent material
very easily may be resuspended.
The relationship between the bottom dynamics and
the physical, chemical and contaminational status of
the surficial sediments of Lake V~inern is illustrated in
Table 3. The significance of knowing what type of
dynamic situation that dominates at and around the
sample site is clearly shown in this table, and also in
Table 4, which gives the same type of information for
Lake Lilla Ullevifjarden, a small bay in the northern
part of Lake M/ilaren. Sweden, unaffected by direct
municipal or industrial pollution. The contamination
in Lake V~inern is toally dominated by mercury from
a chlor-alkaline plant in the northern part of the
basin. These two tables show that practically all exist-
ing sediment pollution is to be found in the loose
deposits within the accumulation areas. Table 4 also
illustrates the fact that elements like Fe, Mn and P
are unsuitable as sediment parameters in a risk index
because their appearance is often governed by
physical/chemical processes in the sediments which
cannot unambiguously be linked to contamination.
These elements often show very complex sedimentolo-
gical distribution patterns {see for example Williams
et al., 1976: Kemp et al., 1976),
How. then, can the bottom dynamic situation be
determined for a given sample site'? There are two
simple ways:
la~ The ETA-diagram (Fig. 1), which may be used
to determine the potential bottom dynamic situation
without any sedimentologicat work. The only two
things that have to be known are the water depth at
the sample site and the effective fetch, which very
• quickly and easily can be determined with a trans-
parent paper put on the map (see Beach Erosion
Board, 1972; H/tkanson, 1978).
tbi From the water content of superficial sediments
(14/o ~, In this case one has to collect and analyse
sediments to determine the bottom dynamic situation,
 An ecological risk index for aquatic pollution control 979

Table 3. The relationship between bottom dynamics (erosion-transportation-accumulation) and the physical and chemi-
cal status of the superficial sediments (0--1 era) of Lake Viinem. Mean values and standard deviations (in brackets). From
H/tkanson (1977b)

Erosion Transportation Accumulation

Number of analyses 14 16 84

Physical status Water depth, m 14.9 (9.7) 22.6 (10.3) 42.8 (22.5)
Water content, 0/ws 40.3 (14.5) 64.0(17.9) 84.0 (10.9)
Bulk density, g c m - 3 1.58 (0.24) 1.27 (0.19) 1.10(0.08)
Organic content, ? / d s 1.5 (0.8) 4.5 (2.3) 9.7 (5.3)
Chemical status Nutrients mg g- ~ ds N 0.78 (0.33) 1.14 (0.46) 2.7 (0.53)
P 0.30 (0,24) 1.07 (0.80) 1.5 (1.O)
Contaminating Hg 0.026 (0.028) 0.27 (0.48) 1.34 (2.13)
elements, ppm ds Cd < I 0.7 (0.5) 1.4 (0.8)
Cu 13 (9) 26 (10) 30 (7)
Pb 34 (I7) 64 (36) 104 (34)
Zn 110 (63) 240 (125) 430 (21 o)
Ni 22 (9) 31 (12) 28 (7)
Not contaminating Ag <I <1 <1
elements, ppm ds B < 20 < 20 <20
Be <1 <1 <1
Bi < 10 < 10 < 10
Cr < 50 < 50 ~<50
Mo <20 <20 <20
Sn <20 <20 <20
V 110 (46) 150 (47) 130 (29)

but the analyses are very simple indeed--to dry about
5 g wet sediment for 6 h at 105°C and express the
water content as wet sediment. The following rule of
thumb limit may be used to differentiate zones of ero-
sion (winnowing) from zones of transportation:
Wo-i = 50. This may be considered a general border-
line, which is valid for most lakes. To determine the
limitation between areas of transportation and ac-
cumulation, one has to know the prevailing character
of the accumulation bottom deposit s in terms of
Wo_~. There is always fi marked relationship between
lake type and sediment type, but the physical charac-
ter of the surficial sediments within the accumulation
areas can vary within vast limits, from lake to lake
and between different sub-basins in a lake--from
Wo_~ = 75 to Wo_~ ---, 100. In general terms, one may
also conclude that the physical character of superficial
sediments in a given lake or sub-basin vary compara-
tively little within the accumulation area and much
within the transportation and erosional areas. Very
often there exists a marked relationship between
water depth (relative water flepth) and the physical
character (water content) of~he superficial sediment.
Some of these general principles have been illustrated
in Fig. 2, which shows the relationship between water
depth and water content of superficial sediments in

Table 4. The relationship between bottom dynamics (erosion-transportation-accumulation) and the physical and chemi-
cal status of the superficial sediments of Lake Lilla Ullevifj~irden (which belongs to Lake M~ilaren). Mean values and
standard deviations (in brackets). From H~kanson, (in press): raw data from Ryding & Borg, (1973)

Erosion Transportation Accumulation

Number of analyses 15 10 • 14

Physical status Water depth, m 13.0 (5.3) 17.5 (5.4) 31.6 (8.0)
Water content, °o ws 32.6 (9.0) 67.4 (9.6) 94.1 (2.3)
Bulk density, gcm - 3 1.72 (0.15) 1.26 (0.10) 1.03 (0.02)
Organic content, % ds 4.6 {2.2) 10.7 (4.6) 24.3 (2.5)
Chemical status Nutrients and indicators
of nutrient status
Nitrogen, mg g- ~ds 0.6 (0.4) 3.4 (1.2) 10.7 (1.5)
Phosphorus. mg g- t ds 0.8 10.4) 2.8 (2.1) 1.6 (0.5)
Carbon, mg g- 1 ds 0.5 10.5) 2.7 (2.0) 10.4 (1.7)
Chlorophyll. #g g-1 ds 5.3 (4.2) 18.5 (9.4) 167.1 (45.5)
Not contaminating, chemically mobile
elements (see also P)
Iron, mg g- 1 ds 24.6 (10.4) 53.5 (14.4i 41.3 (3.2)
Manganese, mg g- 1 ds 0.8 (0.8) 3.5 (2.6) 2.5 (1.5)
Contaminating elements
Zinc, #gg-~ ds 41 (19) 111 (27) 189(17)
Nickel. #g g- ~ ds 28 (13) 51 (13) 73 (7)
Chromium,/ag g- ~ds 23 (8) 40 (8) 57 (10)
Copper, ~tg g- 1 ds 18 (9) 31 (13) 59 (6)
980 LARS H ,xKANSON

Effective fetch of transportation and accumulation can be given b~

0 10 20 30
E rosion ~winnowing
=. ~ ,
J geological reference level, for example, based on the
i Accumulation
40 J
Fig. 1. The ETA-diagram. The effective fetch is a measure
of the free water surface over which the winds may
influence the waves (from H~ikanson, 1977al.
Lake Ekoln (a northern sub-basin of Lake M~ilaren)
and Lake V~inern, Sweden. From these two diagrams
we can see that there exists a marked relationship
between water depth and Wo_~, that the spread
around the regression line decreases with water depth
and that the curve asymptotically reaches a
Wo_l-value in the accumulation zone that we may call
the characteristic value for the accumulation area
(W~_a). This value is often somewhat larger than the
mean value for the accumulation area.
Now, the following rule of the thumb may be given
when the borderline between transportation areas and
accumulation areas is requested.
W~_~ Limit T-A
80-85
85 -90
90-95
>95
That is, if the characteristic water content of the ac-
cumulation area for a given lake is, for example 81 ,%,
then one can predict that the limitation between areas
40 50 60 I k m /
the water content 75°,>.
2. The problem concerning natural background
levels. This issue has been discussed from a principle
point of view in an excellent manner by F/Srstner
Wider co.ant (1977a~ b). This is a central question in all projects
dealing with the case of lake sediments as indicators
of pollution, This problem can be treated in two quite
different ways. One extreme is to establish a general
data introduced by Turekian & Wedephol (1961), and
then utilize this standard reference level for all com-
parisons. The other extreme is to establish a preindus-
trial, or precivilization level, for every sediment core,
for example, from certain pollen horizons (Kemp er
aL, 1976). In the first case, all local variations are
ignored, in the second case all local differences are
emphasized. From a principle point of view, the first
approach is considered most relevant and useful in
the present instance, because the local variations can
be very considerable, even within one and the same
lake.
The necessity of utilizing certain defined reference
values, in this risk index approach, may be illustrated
by the following example:
Lake Freden may either be defined as the last lake
within the drainage area of River Kolbiicks~n. or the
first sub-basin in Lake M~ilaren (see Fig. 3). In most
cases this may be looked upon as a simple and rather
irrelevant matter of definition. However, when dis-
cussing natural background levels, and sediment con-
75
tamination, this is an issue of considerable impor-
78
tance, because for many elements the natural back-
81 ground contents are quite different in the sediments of
85 Lake M~ilaren and the lakes within the River
Kotb~icks~n's water system (see Table 5). The natural
background levels differ very much for Pb, Zn,
Cu and Ni. These differences are probably primarily

Water c o n t e n t ( W O_ 1 ) Water content (Wo- ; i

40 80 0 40 80
0

i
Lake Ekoln t
I
Q.
Q
-- 40 ~ 40-

5 I
t

t
o

80
----
= regmUion
line

= I standard
deviation

ts I
I
I
I
'1
J
8O

i
---- - 1 standard

75

38.3m 106 m
T r a n ~ ) ¢ t at ion --~ ! *-- Ac c u m u t e t ion
Transportation - ~ ~ Accumulation

Fig. 2. The relationship between water depth (relative depth. Dp) and water content of superficial
sediments (I4/o-0 in Lake Ekoln (a small eutrophic lake) and Lake V~inern (the largest lake in Sweden--
oligotrophic). From H/lkanson (197%).
 An ecological risk index for aquatic pollution control 981

OVRE t
HILLEN
NORRA
lUU~KEN
\
ST.

5 1Okra
/

LAKES IN THE WATERSYSTEM OF RIVER

KOLB~CKS~N

.AS
F!g. 3. Map illustrating the geographical position of the lakes within the drainage area of River
Kolbiick~n.

due to geological conditions (there are many mines and money to be saved and practical and administrat-
within the drainage area of River Kolbiick~n). Now, ive advantages connected with the use of general
if for environmental pollution .control purposes we reference values--once these have been determined,
want to discuss the sediment contamination in Lake no sampling and analysis of other sediments than sur-
Freden and compare it with other sub-basins in Lake ficial deposits from accumulation areas would be
Miilaren, then we would get certain "sediment enrich- needed. The main disadvantage would be a lower
ment factors" or "contamination factors", and, if one resolution, but in environmental pollution control,
does the same thing for the lakes in the River this negative effect is outbalanced by the many posi-
Kolb~ckshn water system, then one would get quite tive aspects.
different "sediment enrichment factors" for Pb, Zn, The obvious questions at this point are: what stan-
Cu and Ni for Lake Freden. This may lead to un- dard preindustrial reference', values should be used?
necessary confusion. and, what substances should be included in the risk
This is only one example illustrating the disadvan- index? The second question will be discussed in the
tage of not using defined, standardized, preindustrial next section.
reference values in this context. But there is also time To be able to give a relevant suggestion about
preindustrial reference values, I have used data from
Table 5. Natural, preindustrial background about 50 lakes of varying size, geographical position,
values (in #g g-~ ds) for various elements in trophic level and other iimnological characteristics,
Lake M~ilaren and in a type lake (Lake see Table 6. The standard preindustrial reference level
V~istersjtin) within the River Kolbiickshn
water system (data from Hhkanson. 1979a) (C~,) for the actual substance has been defined as the
mean plus one (1) standard 'deviation. To emphasize
Lake River Kolb~icks~n the fact that these values ar~crude reference values, I
M~ilaren water system have also levelled out this sum (~ + sx) according to
figures given in Table 7. This is a statistical definition
Hg 0.095 0.13
Cd 1.0 1.1 which takes into account the fact that different sedi-
Pb 135 39 ment types in different lakes and sub-basins may have
Cu 65 38 different concentrations of the substances in question;
Zn 145 410 if the data only show a low degree of scatter, then
Cr 130 27
Ni 85 20 (~ + sx) will be close to ~; if, on the other hand, there
is a great spread, then this is accounted for in a stat-
982 LARS H XKANSON

Table 6. Reference literature on sediment data on natural background levels of various elements

Source Elements Lake

Bengtsson & Fleischer 11971) Ca, Cu. Fe. K. Mg, Mn, N, Na, P. Trummen
Pb. Zn Hinnasj6n
Ryding & Borg (1973) C. Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, P. Zn M~ilaren
F6rstner & Miiller (1974) Cd. Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb. Zn Bodensee
Tegernsee
F6rstner (1976) As, Cd. Cr, Cu. Hg, Ni, Pb, Zn Michigan
(data cited) Morana
Washington
Kempetal.(1976) AI, Be, C, Ca, Cd, Cu, Fe. Hg, K. Mg, Erie
Mn, N, Na, Pb, S, Si, Ti. V, Zn
H~.kanson (1977b) Ag,, B, Be, Bi, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mo, N. V~inern
Ni, P, Pb, Sn. V, Zn, DDT and PCB V~ittern
M~itaren
Miiller et al. (19771 Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe. Hg, K, Li. Ni, Constance
Pb, Zn and PAH
H~tkanson (1979) AI. Cd. Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, N, Ni. P, V~istersj6n
Pb, Zn and Oil ~stersj~Sn
Johansson (1978) Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, Fe. Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, L. H'~lsj6n, Tolken,
Zn Horredssj6n, ~). Oresj6n
Lithner (1978) As, Cd. Cu, Fe, Hg, Pb. Zn 30 lakes in the Skelleftefi
area inorthern Sweden)

istically definable and relevant way. Data from sedi-
mentary rocks are included in Table 7 for reasons of
comparison. It should be noted that when establish-
ing these reference values most work has been focused
on PCB, Hg, Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn, As and Cr. It should
also be stressed that sediment data on PCB in prein-
dustrial deposits are very rare and that the C~,-value
for PCB (0.01 ppm) has been estimated primarily from
Lake V~ittern data (H/tkanson & Ahl, 1976). Since
PCB is a product of the industrial era, one could
advocate that the preindustrial reference value should
be zero. However, to get an appropriate correspon-
dence between the C~.-values, as the "upper limited"
for natural background levels, I have used the value
0.01 for PCB.
3. The third problem that will be discussed in this
section concerns the thickness of the sediment layer.
This is a most important question for, at least, two
reasons:
(1) It is generally very difficult to collect good
samples if thin layers are utilized ( < 1 cm), since the
superficial sediments may be very loose, with water
contents over 90%.
(2) Thick layers provide a less accurate resolution
in time, especially if the rate of deposition is low
( < 2 mm y r - t ) and the bioturbation is intense. Thick
layers will also give crude mean values, since the ver-
tical gradients g ~ e r a l l y decrease with sediment
depth.

Table 7. Contents of various elements /in gg g-1 ds) in sedimentary rocks (from
Bowen, 1966) and preindustrial reference values as determined from the lakes listed
in Table 6

Sedimentary Mean values Standard Preindustrial

rocks from listed lakes deviation reference values

A8 0.05 ~<1
AI 4000-80,000 26,000 . . . . . .
As 1-13 8.6 5.9 15
Cd 0.035.-0.3 0.58 0.41 1.0
Co 0.1-20 18.5 10.9
Cr 10-100 48.7 34.4 90
Cu 4-50 28.7 12.5 50
Fe 4000-50,000 26,700 9200
H8 0.03-0.4 0.12 0. I 1 0.25
Mn 50-1000 860 260 --
Mo 0.2-2.5 ~<10 -
Ni 2-70 49.7 20.5 --
Pb 7-20 34.9 32.9 70
Sn 0.5--6 < 10
V 20-130 ~ 150
Zn 15-100 110.6 55.3 175
PCB 0 -~ 0.01"

* Estimated.
 An ecological risk index for aquatic pollution control
From a theoretical viewpoint it would be preferable
to collect, analyse and compare sediment data from a
known and comparable timespan. However, this
would either require extensive work to determine the
rate of deposition, e.g. using the Pb-210/Cs-137 tech-
nique (see Robbins & Edgington, 1975 or Edgington
& Robbins, 1976), or the use of sediment traps (see
Hhkanson, 1976 or Gardner, 1978). It is easy to see
that this would lead us too far, despite the fact that it
would be theoretically attractive. Consequently, one
may conclude that the layer 0-1 em should be used as
a standard in all subsequent discussions.
4. The last question to be brought up in this
section concerns the set-up of the sampling; not
merely the fact that one should use good instruments
which permit "undisturbed" samples to be collected,
and that the 0-1 crn layer should be used, but
rather--how many samples would be needed to get
an appropriate statistical validity of the requested
mean values? And according to what principles
should the sampling program be conducted? Regard-
ing these matters one may point out that at present
no study has been published, as far as the author is
aware, which gives a thorough analysis of representa-
tive sediment sampling. While waiting for such a
study, we may say that at least 5 samples from ac-
cumulation bottom deposits, which provide an even
area cover, would be needed from the lake or the
sub-basin to make a proper estimate of the requested
mean value. This demand is especially valid for large
lakes, whose sediment character may vary rather
much.
The number requirement
This requirement is based on the reasonable assump-
tion that, under otherwise comparable conditions, a
lake polluted by many substances should be attri-
buted a higher risk index than a basin contaminated
by fewer substances. At the outset, one can emphasize
that the risk index cannot be based on all toxic sub-
stances and that it should always be based on the
same parameters. The question is: what substances?
To answer this question one may sort out some prin-
ciples that may be used in making the selection:
Among substances which occur in a similar Way in
lake sediments, one could choose one for the risk
index as a typical representative;
Certain substances and elements have, for different
reasons, a special interest for environmental pollution
control. A group of experts at the National Swedish
Environmental Protection Board has recently dis-
cussed this particular issue and arrived at the conclu-
sion that the following metals should (must) be
included: Hg, Cd, Pb, Cu and Zn (T. Ahl, Uppsala,
Sweden, personal communication). These five ele-
ments must naturally be included in the requested
risk index;
It has already been stressed that Fe, Mn and P are
unsuitable in this context;
983
Extremely rare elements, like most elements with
atomic numbers larger than 50, and substances which
cannot be analysed in a standardized manner may
also be abandoned;
Major. elements (Si, At, K; N a and Mg), which
m a k c up the largest group of the sediment matrix,
carbonate dements (Ca and Mg), which constitute the
second largest group (15%) and nutrient elements
(org.-C, N and P), which account for approximately
I0% of the total sediment weight, should all bc dis-
regarded in the risk index which focuses on toxic
substances.
There are, of course, niany aspects that one can put
on the choice of the desired l~rameters, and the sub-
sequent suggestion should be considered just as a
suggestion.
(I) Hg, Cd, Pb, Cu and Zn have been given a priori;
(2) Some representative for the well-known lipophi-
lic group of toxic substances (PCB, D D T , etc) should
be included. I suggest PCB.
(3) Some representative for the group of trace ele-
ments which quite often appear with a similar pattern
in lake sediments, e.g.,Cr, Ni, V, Mo, and Co, ought
to be included. I suggest Cr.
(4) I also suggest that As is included because some
forms of As are very toxic, and because As appears to
behave in a very special way in aquatic systems. For
the latter reason As is used in this context as a type
element.
These arc the eight substances that will bc dis-
cussed. All thesc substances can today be determined
in a standardized manner in lake sediments. Knowl-
edge also exists concerning their appearance in sedi-
ments, water and biota to substantiate a discussion
concerning their impact on the requested risk index.
Other interesting and relevant substances or groups
of substances cannot today meet these requirements
(e.g. PAH, oil and grease).
Finally, to establish the physical status of the super-
ficial sediments, one must also determine the water
content (Wo_~). W h e n discussing the sensitivityof dif-
ferent lakes and sub-basins, we will use the nitrogen
content (N) and the ignition loss (IG, the organic con-
tent). W0_~, N and IG can be Considered as necessary
co-paramctcrs.
To concludc, wc may say that the subsequent dis-
cussions concerning the requested Rl-value will be
based on the following eleven parameters: PCB, Hg,
Cd, Pb, Ag, Cu, Cr, Zn and co-parameters W0_~, N
and IG.
THE C O N T A M I N A T I O N FACTOR AND T H E
DEGREE OF CONTAMINATION
To describe the contamination of toxic substances
in a lake or a sub-basin, we may define a contami-
nation factor (Ciy) accordingly:
C) = C~_,
C~ (1)
984 LARS H AKANSO"~

where
Cb-~ = the mean content of the substance (i = PCB,
Hg, Cd, Pb, As, Cr, Cu, Zn) from at least 5
sample sites which provide an even cover of
the accumulation area. The value should be
given in ~g g-~ ds (=ppm);
C~ = the preindustrial reference value for the sub- Z~ ~-~
~mZZ Z<~
stance (see Table 7).
The contamination factor (C~) accounts for the
contamination of single elements. If C71~__~;~ C~. we
can define the substance as contaminating or
enriched: if C6_~ < C~, then the element should not
be characterized as contaminating in this context.
The following terminology may be used in this risk
index approach to get a uniform way of describing the ~..~¢,~ ~= ~.:~---
. ~ ~~ ~ : ~ ~'~
contamination factor:
~.~-~,~ "~=
C~r < 1 ~ low contamination factor (indicating .~= ~ = ~ ~ .~.
low sediment contamination of the .- ~.,~ ~.~ o ~
.~.~ ~_~ ~.,. ~ ~
substance in question); ..~ ~ ~-~ ~ = ~
1 ~< C~r < 3 =. moderate contamination factor:
3 ~< C} < 6 =. considerable contamination factor;
C} >~ 6 =. very high contamination factor.
In the subsequent part. the practical use of the
C~-concept will be illustrated for 15 Swedish lakes,
which represent a considerable range of lake types.
Background data on lake area, pH, total-P, total-N,
chlorophyll-a, bioproduction index (BPI, see below),
and trophic level are given in Table 8. A general refer-
ence to each lake is given in the last column.
Mean values from superficial sediments (0--1cm) "a
from accumulation areas for Wo_a, IG, P, N, Hg, Cd,
Pb, Cu, Zn and Cr are given for the investigated lakes
in Table 9. It should be noted that we do not have any
data on As from any of these lakes and data on PCB
only from Lake Vhttern. To be able to carry out a
general and principle discussion I have assigned hy-
pothetical values where empirical data are missing.
The contamination factors for the given substances
may then be calculated (see Table 10). Before discuss-
ing the information in this table, we must also define
the deoree of contamination (Ca), i.e. the sum of all
contamination factors (C~-) for a given lake: ~6

~ ' ~. C 6 - 1
C~ = C/= ~ (2)
i=1 i=1 Cn
With this approach, we 'have a contamination
factor (C~-), which accounts for the contamination of
single elements according to the concentration re-
quirement, and a Ca-value, which accounts for the
total (the number requirement) of the sediment pollu-
tion within a basin or lake.
The following terminology may be used to describe e, .-~
the degree of contamination (C,rvalue):
Ca < 8 ~. low degree of contamination:
8 ~< C~ < 16 =- moderate degree of contamination;
16 ~< C~ < 32 =~ considerable degree of contami-
nation:
 An ecological risk index for aquatic pollution control 985

Table 9. Mean values from superficial sediments (0-1 cm) from accumulation areas. Data from H~tkanson (1977b. 1979).
Figures marked * have been estimated from a very limited and dispersed set of data

Hg Cd Pb Cu Zn Cr
W0-t IG P N
Lake (% ws) (% ds) (rag g- 1 ds) (~g g- ~ds)

Viinern 84.0 9.7 1.5 2.7 " 1.34 1.4 100 30 430 ~ 50
Viirmlandssj6n 85.2 10.6 1.5 2.9 1.80 1.5 100 29 460 ~<50
Viittern 82.1 11.9 1.3 3.6 0.16 1.3" 150 45 450 ~<50
M~ilaren 83.8 I 1.0 1.5 4.6 0.50 1.5 130 100 390 140
Blacken 86.6 9.6 2.1 4.9 0.26 1.8 70 120 550 250
Hjiilmaren 88.7 12.3 1.8 7.6 0.30* 1.8" 100 50 150 70
Bysj6n 84.3 11.6 1.2 4.9 0.34 1.4 63 15 300 16
V~sman 88.9 17.2 2.8 3.9 3.00 5.3 900 85 1030 34
Haggen 87.8 14.6 1.9 5.2 0.20 2.7 140 27 310 16
Ovre Hiilen 89.7 11.3 4.0 6.2 2.04 4.5 230 89 1270 48
Norra Barken 87.9 11.2 2.4 5.7 0.95 8.7 810 100 2140 46
Stora Aspen 84.1 9.9 1.4 4.6 0.47 4.8 980 100 1990 2591
Am~ningen 89.3 9.5 2.1 6.6 0.28 2.5 380 51 1610 440
Ostersj6n 83.5 18.2 1.1 5.2 0.63 1.9 140 130 1260 780
Freden 82.8 10.1 2.0 5.2 0.35 3.0 83 67 1060 430

Ca I> 32 ~ very high degree of contamination
indicating serious anthropogenic
pollution.
To get a better view of the contamination situation
in the investigated lakes, the information in Table 10
is transported to Table 11, which illustrates the rank-
ing order according to Ccvalues as well as the
sequence of the contamination factors. An alternative
way of comparing and illustrating sediment contami-
nation in terms of C d - and C}-values is given in
Fig. 4 for the investigated lakes within the drainage
area of River Kolbiickshn.
The pollutional status in some of the investigated
lakes may briefly be described accordingly:
(I) Type case: Lake Viinern (Viirmlandssj6n)
The contamination profile of Lake V~inern is totally
dominated by the pllution of one element--mercury.
The main polluting source is a chior-alkaline plant in
the northern part of V~rmlandssjSn, the eastern main
basin (see H/tkanson, 1975; and SNV, 1978). Large
areas in northern V~irmlandssj6n are "blacklisted",
which means that fish (i.e. 1-kg pike) contain more
than 1.0 mg methyl mercury per kg. Lake V~inern has
a low bioproduction, and the trophic level may be
characterized as oligotrophic (or mesotrophie), which
implies that the lake is sensitive to metal contami-
nation.
The Ccvalue is 15.9, which is on the borderline
between moderate and considerable. The contami-
nation factor for Hg is 5.4, which is considerable,
close to very high. There is a small contamination of
Cr (C} = 0.6) and Cu (C} = 0.6), and moderate con-
tamination of the other substances (Zn > PCB* >
As* > Cd -- Pb).

Table 10. Contaminations factors (C}-values) and values illustrating the degree of sediment contamination (Cd) in 15
Swedish lakes. It should be noted that all figures marked * are hypothetical
8

Lake PCB Hg Cd Pb As Cr Cu Zn Ca = ~ C)
i=1

V~nern 2.0* 5.4 1.4 1.4 2.0* 0.6 0.6 2.5 15.9
V~irmlandssj~Sn 2.5* 7.2 1.5 1.4 2.0* 0.6 0.6 2.6 18.4
V~ittern ,5.0* 0.6 1.3" 2.1 1.5" 0.6 0.9 2.6 14.6
M~ilaren 4.0* 2.0 1.5 1.9 2.0* 1.6 2.0 2.2 17.2
Blacken 4.0* 1.0 1.8 1.0 2.5* 2.8 2.4 3.1 18.6
Hj~ilmaren 5.0* 1.2" t.8" 1.4 3.0* 0.8 1.0 0.9 15.1
BysjSn 2.5* 1.4 1.4 0.9 2.5* 0.2 0.3 1.7 10.9
V~isman 4.0* 12.0 5.3 12.9 5.0* 0.4 1.7 5.9 47.2
Haggen 3.0" 0.8 2.7 2.0 3.0* 0.2 0.5 1.8 14.0
Ovre Hillen 5.0* 8.2 4.5 3.3 4.0* 0.5 1.8 7.3 34.6
Norra Barken 7.0* 3.8 8.7 11.6 4.0* 0.5 2.0 12.2 49.8
Stora Aspen 5.0* 1.9 4.8 14.0 8.0* 28.8 2.0 11.4 75.9
Am~nningen 4.0* 1.1 2.5 5.4 4.0" 4.9 1.0 9.2 32.1
OstersjSn 4.0* 2.5 1.9 2.0 5.0* 8.7 2.6 7.2 33.9
Freden 4.0* 1.4 3.0 1.2 3.0* 4.8 1.3 6.1 24.8
Reference lake 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 8.0
("unpolluted")
986 LARS H A.KANSON

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 An ecological risk index for aquatic pollution control 987

BYSJON

VASMA~ovRE
HILLEN
H&GGEN'~
Cf6 7
c~ q
NORRA BysjSn
,1
t:f
PCB*-2.5
• C~
:Ls*=2.3
"> " Cf3
2n=1.7
> C~

IIg-i ,4
, C~

Cd=l .-1
>

Pb=0.9
> Cf
Cu-0.3
>

Cr*O. 2 10.9
Vtismn 1~-12,9 Itg*12.0 2n=5.9 Cd-S.3 As*=S.0 FCB*=4.0 Cu=l.7 Cr=0,-I 47.2
Ostra Ililler* 11g-8.2 2n-7.3 PCB*-S.O Cd=4,5 As*=4.0 Pb=3.3 Cu-I.8 Cr=O. S 34.6
liaggen PCB*-3.0 As*=3.0 Cd=2.7 ~22,0 211=1.8 |lg=0.8 Ct.l=O.S Cr=D. 2 14.0
Xorra Barken 2n=12.2 Pb=ll.6 G.128.7 I"CB*=7,0 As*=4.0 I|g=3.8 Cu=2.0 Cr=O.S 49.8
STORA
ASPEN Stora Aspen
Amlimlingen
Cr=Z8.8
2n=9.2
Pb=14.0
Pb=$.4
Zn-ll.~
Cr=4.9
As'=8,O
PCB'-4,0
PCB*=5.0
As*-4.0
Cd24.8
Cd'2.S
Cu-2.O
llg=l.l
IIg=1.9
Cu-l.0
75.9
32.1
Ostersj6n Cr-8.7 2n=7.2 ,Xs*~5.0 PCB*=4,0 Cu=2.5 ttg=2.S 1~-2.0 Cd=1.9 33.9
AMANN)NGEN Frcden Zn-6. i Cr24.8 ]~B*--I. D COt3,0 ,lst=3.0 tlg=1.4 Cu=l.3 Pb=l. 2 24.8

/
l

ER~ON

~Imw'FREDEN

Fig. 4. Contamination factors (C~) and the degree of contamination (C~) for 9 lakes within the drainage
area of River Kolbiicks/m. Figures marked * are hypothetical.

(2) Type case: Lake Blacken (M~i/aren, Hjiilmaren, Fre-
den)
Lake Blacken is a eutrophic sub-basin of Lake
M/ilaren situated in the western parL south of Lake
Freden (see Fig. 3). One major tributary, River
Torsh/illa~n, enters Lake Blacken. Within the drain-
age area of this river there are many metal industries.
The pollutional status of this river has been throughly
studied (Schelin, 1975).
The characteristic feature about the contamination
in this basin is that many substances appear with
moderate contamination factors. The Ccvalue is 18.6.
The highest empirically determined contamination
factor is that for Zn (C~ = 3.1). Cr, Cu, Cd, Pb and
Hg appear with moderate C~-values.
(3) Type case: Lake Bysj6n (Haggen)
This lake does not directly receive any industrial or
municipal waste water. Lake Bysj0n is mesotrophic
and moderately polluted--the Ccvalue is 10.9, All the
studied substances appear with low or moderate
C~-values. For further information about Lake
BysjSn see H:~kanson (1979).
(4) Type case: Lake Viisman
The contamination profile in Lake Viisman is quite
different from the one in Lake Bysjtin. The metal pol-
lution of the sediments in Lake Viisman is very high.
The C~-value is 47.2, which is the third largest of the
investigated lakes. The contamination factors (C~-) are
very high for Pb (12.9) and Hg (12.0), considerable for
Zn (5.9), Cd (5.3), As (5.0Oo*) and PCB (4.0*, figures
marked * are hypothetical), moderate for Cu (1.7) and
low for Cr (0.4). The very high contamination of Pb,
Hg, Zn and Cd is quite typical for the type of mining
industry which is primarily responsible for the metal
pollution in Lake V~isman.
This serious contamination of Lake Vhsman was
not known until the data from the sedimentological
control program were published (Hhkanson, 1979).
Previously Lake V~sman was considered to be the
least polluted, largest and most attractive lake for rec-
reation and fishing in the whole drainage area.
This lake has one of the lowest bioproduction
indices of the lakes in the drainage area, and is hence
one of the most sensitive to metal pollution.
(5) Type case: Lake Ovre Hillen
This lake is "blacklisted" because of high mercury
content in fish (1-kg pike). It should be noted that
Lake Owe Hillen is moderately eutrophic and has a
lower Hg-contamination, judging from the sediment
data, than Lake V~isman. This indicates how serious
the situation may be in Lake Viisman.
This lake receives direct waste water from various
metal industries in the Ludvika-region. The degree of
contaminatioh is 34.6. Hg and Zn are present with
very high C~-values, PCB*, Cd, As* and Pb with con-
siderable sediment contamination, Cu with moderate,
and Cr with low C~,-values.
(6) Type case: Stora Aspen (Norra Barken, Arn~nn-
ingen, Osrersj6n)
Lake Stora Aspen leads the "'pollution-league", The
degree of contamination is extremely high, C~, = 75.9.
The contamination factor for Cr is 28.8, which is
about the double that for Pb (C~ = 14), which in turn
988 LARS H \KANSO'~

is the second highest C}.-value recorded in the investi-
gated lakes. The C[r-value for Zn is also very high
111.4). In Lake Stora Aspen Hg and Cu appear with
moderate contamination factors.
To conclude, we may say that the contamination
character may be described in a uniform, adequate
and standardized way by means of the contamination
factor and the degree of contamination. The choice of
terminology and limits between various classes can
always be discussed and this set-up is only meant to
give one alternative. The basic philosophy is that the
work with aquatic pollution control must have a uni-
form frame-work. So far we have only discussed the
"'easy points" of this approach, dealing with concen-
trations and numbers, which lie far from ecological
risks and effects,
The crucial question is now: Does the type of con-
tamination that characterizes, for example, Lake
Stora Aspen imply potentially higher ecological risks
than the type of contamination that dominates in the
other lakes'? To answer this type of question we must
also take into account the toxic factor requirement
and the sensitivity requirement. These two require-
ments are very difficult to penetrate and fulfil in a
reasonably adequate way,
T H E TOXIC FACTOR R E Q U I R E M E N T
In this section we will discuss the problem of put-
ting sedimentological, toxicological and ecological
ranking factors on the parameters PCB, Hg, Cd, Pb,
As, Cr, Cu and Zn. The whole approach is built on
standard sedimentological sampling and analytical
procedures ("total concentrations"). The problem can
be discussed from many angles, and this approach
will only focus on some of these. In this risk index
approach, the toxic factor should primarily give infor-
mation about the potential transport avenues of toxic
substances to man, and the threat to man. Secondar-
ily, the toxic factor should give information about the
even more complex threat to the aquatic ecological
system. Thus. the "'main-road'" in this model goes
from contamination of water-sediment biota-fish
mail.
I have chosen to discuss the toxic factor concept
from one major angle- "'the abundance principle", i.e.
from the well-established general thesis saying that
the potential toxicological effect of a substance (ele-
ment) is proportional to the abundance, or rather the
rarity, in nature of this substance lelementi.
To evaluate this "'abundance principle" in this con-
text the following methodology has been used:
(11 The basic material for the evaluation is given in
Table 12. It illustrates the abundance of various ele-
ments in igneous rocks, soils, fresh water, land plants
and land animals, i.e. different types of geological and
biological media. When reliable data become avail-
able from other types of media, especially from the
fresh water environment, it would be natural and
beneficial to make a revision of the results given in
this context,
(21 The relative abundance, as given in Table 12. of
the elements Cr, Zn, Cu, Pb. As, Cd and Hg have
been ranked in these five medias, lit should be noted
that PCB is treated separately later on). The element
with the highest mean concentration has been given
the value 1.0 etc. The result is shown in Table 13.
From this table it is evident, for example, that the
mean concentration Of Cd is 500 times lower than the
corresponding value for Cr in igneous rocks.
(3) In the lower part of Table 13, we can see the
"abundance numbers" for the seven elements, metal
for metal, in the five media. The sum of these five
"abundance numbers" for every metal is given to the
right, in the column marked
5
E.
1
14) To balance for the effect of extreme "abundance
numbers", which in some cases (e.g. Cr and Cuj add

Table 12. The abundance of various elements (in ppm) in igneous rocks, soils, fresh
water, land plants and land animals (from Bowen, 1966)

Igneous Fresh Land Land

rocks Soils water plants animals

Ag 0.07 0,1 0.000l 3 0.06 0.006

AI 82,000 71,000 0,24 500 4-100
As 1.8 6.0 0,0004 0.2 ~<0.2
Cd 0.2 0.06 < 0.08 0.6 -<.0.5
Co 25 8.0 0.0009 0.5 0.03
Cr 100 100 0.00018 0.23 0.075
Cu 55 20 0.0l 14 2.4
Fe 56.300 38,000 0.67 140 160
Hg 0,08 0.03--0,8 0.00008 0.015 0.046
Mn 950 850 0,012 630 0.2
Mo 1.5 2,0 0.00035 0.9 < 0.2
Ni 75 40 0.01 3.0 0,8
Pb t2.5 10 0.005 2.7 2.0
Sn 2.0 10 0.00004 <0.3 <0,15
V 135 100 0,001 1.6 0.15
Zn 70 50 0.0l 100 160
 An ecological risk index for aquatic pollution control 989

Table 13. Relative abundance of various elements in igneous rocks, soils, fresh water, land plants and land animals

Igneous Fresh Land Land

Order rocks Soils water plants animals
1 1.0-Cr 1.O-Cr l.O-Zn 1.0-Zn 1.0-Zn
2 1.4-Zn 2.0-Zn 1.0-Cu 7.1-Ctt 67-Cu
3 1.8-Cu 5.0-Cu 2.0-Pb 37-Pb 80-Pb
4 8.0-Pb 10-Pb 25-As 167-Cd 320-Cd
5 56-As 17-As 31-Cd+ 435-Cr 800-As
6 500-Cd 240-Hg 56-Cr 500-As 2130-Cr
7 1250-Hg 1670-Cd 125-Hg 6670-Hg 3480-Hg
5 4
~ "'Abundance
1 number"
Cr 1.0 1.0 56 435 2130~ 2623 493 110
Zn 1.4 2.0+ 1.0 1.0 1.0 6.4 4.4 I
Cu 1.8 5.0 1.0 7.1 67~ 81.9 14.9 3.4
Pb 8.0 10 2.0 37 805 137 57 13
As 56 17 25 500 8005 1398 598 140
Cd 500 16705 31 167 320 2688 1018 230
Hg 1250 240 125 6670~ 3480 11,765 5095 1160

+ From F~rstner & MOiler (1974). 4

+ Largest value--not included in column marked ~.
1

unappropriate weight to the sum. the largest value
(marked with +) in Table 13 has been omitted for
every element. The remaining four "abundance
numbers" have been summed up in the column
marked
4 types of sedimentological environments are con-
1 that are applicable in defined environments, e.g. the
The "abundance numbers", which will be subse-
quently used, are given in the last column in Table 13.
These numbers have been obtained by division by 4.4
(for Zn). This gives the following sequence:
Zn<Cu.<Pb<Cr<As<Cd<Hg
It must be noticed that the "abundance numbers"
given in Table 13 are not equivalent to the requested
toxic factors. There are at least three aspects that first
must be discussed: (1) the "sink-effect", (2) the "prob-
lem of dimension" and (3) the "PCB-problem".
(1) The "sink-effect" means in this context that the
various substances make different "fingerprints" in the
sediments, they have different tendencies to be de-
posited in the sediments, which in turn may depend
on very many reasons (see Tables 1 and 2). The cen-
tral questions in this context are: Is it possible to give
a relevant general "sink-factor" for the elements in
question?--If yes, with what method?
It is, in the first place, obvious that any general set
of "sink-factors" would only provide a rough picture
of the existing diversity in nature. But in this context,
even a rough "sink-factor would imply a step forward.
It should also be noted that there must be consider-
able differences between "sink-factors" for different
sedimentological environments (like river-lake and
marine-limnic). Here we are only concerned with
lakes or sub-basins in lakes. Previous sedimentologi-
cal investigations (see for example Cranston, 1974:
F6rstner & MiJller, 1974: Baccini, 1976: Kemp et al_
1976: Cato, 1977, HAkanson, 1977b: Edgren, 1978 or
Harding & Whitton, 1978) have directly, or indirectly
through the data introduced, provided indications
that most basins have a rather unique pollutional
"fingerprint" in the sediments. This may be true if nit
sidered, but there are still general geochemical rules
well-established fact that elements like Fe, Mn and P
are readily mobilized from anoxic sediments.
A measure of the "sink-effect" ("Bindungsfestig-
keit", see F6rstner & Mtiller, 1974) has been calcu-
lated by comparing the "natural background values"
for fresh water (see Table 12) with the preindustrial
reference values (C~,) for lake sediments (see Table 7).
The actual data and the obtained "sink-factors" for
As, Cd. Cr, Cu, Hg, Pb and Zn are given in Table 14.
This is, of course, a simplification of a very compli-
cated matter, and one would like to have data of
much better validity, but despite this, the method gives
quantitative data of certain relevance. According to
the last column in Table 14, we can see that Cr has
the lowest "sink-factor", which implies that Cr gives
the "heaviest fingerprint" in the sediments, and that
Hg has the highest "sink-factor", which consequently
means that relatively much Hg may be found in the
water compared to the sediments. The ranking order
is:
Hg< Cd=Cu <Pb<Zn <As<Cr
We can now make a correction in the "abundance
numbers", which accounts for the "sink-effect". by
multiplication by the "sink-factors".
The reason why we should multiply is, of course.
that the "abundance number" should be transformed
to sedimentological toxic factors, which should
account for the "'sink-effect"--to get comparability
one must account for and strengthen the influence
99(1
Table 14. Determination of the "'sink-factor'" for As. Cd, Cr, C'~1. Hg. Pb and Zn
Water data from Bowen (19661. Sediment data from Table -
Natural background
concentration m
fresh water
Element (ppmt
As 0.4
Cd 0.2
Cr 0.2
Cu 10
Hg 008
Pb 5 70
Zn 10
from elements with weak "'fingerprints" (and high
"sink-factors"). This gives the following "'corrected
abundance numbers":
Zn = 57, Cr = 220, Cu = 680. Pb = 920, As = 3780,
Cd = 46000 and Hg = 371 200.
(2) The "'problem of dimension", which in this con-
text means that we must give the "corrected abun-
dance numbers" an adequate dimension, order of
magnitude, so that these numbers may be used subse-
quently as sedimentological toxic factors and be com-
pared with the contamination factors (the C~--values).
The requested sedimentological toxic factors (St i-
value) for the given substances should thus describe
and interpret (1) the "abundance principle", (2) the
"sink-effect" and (3) the "dimension-problem'.
It is obvious that we cannot accept a range from
Zn := 57 to Hg -- 371 200. This does not match the
dimensions of the contamination factors. One possible
solution to this problem, which maintains the given
order between the elements, may be the following:
(1) In the first place we divide all "'corrected abun-
dance numbers" by 57, i.e. a normation with respect
to the element (Zn) with the lowest "corrected abun-
dance number". This gives:
Zn = 1.0, Cr = 3.9, Cu = 11.9, Pb = 16.1, As = 66.3.
Cd = 807 and Hg = 6510.
(2) Then, to get reasonable dimensions and still
maintain the given order between the elements, we
take the square-root of these figures, i.e.:
Z n - - 1.0, Cr =2.0, C u - - 3.4, P b = 4 . 0 , As=8.1,
Cd = 28.4 and Hg = 80.7.
(3) Then. to emphasize the uncertainty of the
method, we may round off the values accordingly:
Z n = I, C r = 2 , C u = 5 , P b = 5 , A s = 10, C d = 3 0
and Hg = 80.
(4) These seem to be reasonable sedimentological
toxic factors for all elements, except Hg, which prob-
ably has got too high a value, e.g. compared to Cd.
Without further discussion, the value for Hg may
therefore be reduced to 40.
(51 In general terms, one may conclude that the
available knowldge on PCB in limnic waters and sedi-
L',RS H \KANSO',
Preindustrial reference "'Sink-factor'"
salue for lake sediments Me in water
(ppm) Me-i~i s ~ m e n t s /~7~
15 27
1.0 200
90 2
50 200
0.25 320
71
175 57
ments is very fragmentary and on the whole much
more limited than for the metals in question. On the
basis of existing knowledge on PCB {see, e.g. OIsson.
1977), it does not seem possible to discuss, for
example, "abundance number" and "'sink-effect'" for
PCB in limnic systems. However. we may safely
assume that the sedimentologicat toxic factor for PCB
should lie in the same order of magnitude as that of
Hg.
Thus, in the following PCB will be attributed the
Sti-value 40. Table 15 gives a summary of the estab-
lished sedimentological toxic factors for the eight sub-
stances in question.
THE SENSITIVITY REQUIREMENT
In this section we will discuss the fact that the sen-
sitivity to toxic substances varies from lake to lake.
The aim is to get a sedimentological "sensitivity
factor" which may be utilized in this risk index
approach. This means that we will not discuss impor-
tant parameters that cannot be determined by sedi-
ment analyses, e.g. retention time, or parameters that
may be determined from the sediments but for which
today's knowledge is incomplete and/or impossible to
evaluate, e.g. sediment pH for water pH, sediment
alkalinity for water alkalinity and the impact of sedi-
ment Eh (red. ox. potential). It is well established that,
for example, water pH, salinity, alkalinity have a con-
siderable effect on toxicity of various metals, e.g. Hg
and Zn, but it is not sufficiently known, at least to the
author, how the result should be interpreted if these
parameters were determined from sediment samples.
There is also insufficient knowledge, according to the
present author's opinion, on the impact of sediment
Eh on the given substances, to include Eh in this
discussion. All these factors can be determined from
the sediments, and when adequate empirical data and
knowledge are at hand. I think these parameters must
be accounted for in future sedimentological risk
indices. This is a very interesting avenue of research.
which with all probability will provide both practi-
cally important and theoretically interesting results, in
this approach, however, we will base our discussions
on one important factor, namely the bioproduction.
 An ecological risk index for aquatic pollution control 991

Table 15. Sedimentological-toxic-

ological factors (St~-values)for the
eight substances in the risk index
approach

Substance St;-value

PCB 40
Hg 40
Cd 30
As 10
Pb 5
Cu 5
Cr 2
Zn I e~

Many formulae and methods describing the trophic

I
level or the level of bioproduction have been pro-
posed and are based on nutrients, plankton, bottom
fauna, morphometry, etc (see Ahl & Wiederholm,
1977). In this particular context there are some re- N
e~
strictions that we must put on the desired bioproduc-
tion index: it should be linked to the sediments; it E
should be based on parameters that can be analysed
in a cheap, fast and simple manner, enabling it to be
widely used; it must provide an adequate and useful 0 , A
measure, which may be adopted in the formula we
want to obtain. E
In accordance with well established knowledge, we
may point out that the trophic status of a lake may be
correlated to the nitrogen content of the sediments ._=
(Hansen, 1959, 1961; Horie, 1969). It is, of course, t. A

practical to utilize an index that has been previously

:E v~
tested with promising results against other types of
indices indicating bioproduction level, for example ;E
the BPI-value as defined by Hkkanson (1975, 1980).
The BPI-value for any given lake or water system
may be obtained by determining the ignition loss (the .1
g
IG-value) and the nitrogen content (the N-value) of
sediment samples. The BPI-value is then defined as Lg
the N-content on the regression line for IG -- 10°;o.
t-
The nitrogen content is determined, quite simply, t.

according to the standard Kjeidahl-method. The IG- o

value is given as the ignition loss of dried sediment
samples (550°C for 1 h). The N-content is given in ;E t~
rag g-~ ds, the IG-content in °/ods (ds = dry sub-
stance).
The relationships between the BPI-value and other
parameters indicating/characterizing trophic status
and/or degree of bioproduction are illustrated in
Table 16. The correlations between the nitrogen con- "6=
tent and the organic content (IG) in superficial sedi-
ments in some of the investigated lakes are given in
Table 17. There is very often a strong correlation
between the N-content and the IG-content; corre-
lation coefficients (r) in the order of 0.9 are not rare. .~ .,_. ._.9.
m ~

The relationship between BPI and total-P, which is

a frequently used measure of trophic level (see Wetzel,
r~
1975), is illustrated in Table 18 and Fig. 5 for 15 ,4.- ÷ ÷

Swedish lakes/basins.
With the presuppositions valid in this context, we
may conclude that the BPI-value is easy to determine
992 L ~,r~s H xKAXSO-,

Table 17. The relationship between N-content and IG-content in superficial sedi-
ments (tY l cm), given as the correlation coefficient It! and the equation of the
regression line. BPl-values, and values of chlorophyll-a from the 4 major Swedish
lakes and some defined sub-basins. Based on NLL-data

Chtorophyll-a
Lake:basin ~ ~ Regressmn line BPI /rag m - 31

Hj~ilmaren 21 0.96 N = 0.59-IG + 0,34 6.3 26

Mhlaren 18 0.97 N = 0.40. IG + 0.36 4.4 11
V~inern 95 0.86 N = 0.29. IG - 0.02 2.9 2
V~.ttern 90 0.78 N = 0.24. IG + 0.42 2.~ 1
Blacken+ 24 {).73 N = 0.38. IG + 1.23 5.0 10
V~isterhsfjhrden~ 18 0.81 N = 0.57. IG - 0.64 5.1 24
Dalbosj6n~ 32 0.87 N = 0.32. IG - 0.06 3.1 15)
V~irmlandssjiSn¶ 63 0.84 N = 0.30 IG - {).09 2.9 2.2

+ Blacken is a basin in Lake Miilaren.

V~isterhsfj~irden is a basin in Lake M~ilaren.
Dalbsj6n is the western main basin in Lake Viinern.
¶ V~irmlandssj/Sn is the eastern main basin in Lake V~inern.

from superficial sediments, and that it gives a suffi-
ciently good resolution in terms of lake bioproducti-
vity. Hence, it may be a useful tool to describe lake
sensitivity in this particular respect. The question is:
How should the BPl-value be explicitly linked to the
sedimentologieal toxic factors (the S(-values)?
We may illustrate the principle problem behind this
question by means of a type substance-mercury,
which in this context is one of the best studied of all
environmental pollutants (see Taylor, 1975). Mercury
is also one of the very few, if not the only, toxic sub-
stance for which there exist, if not sufficient then at
least empirical data enabling a qualitative and quanti-
tative linkage between discharge--water/sediment
c o n t a m i n a t i o n - - l a k e status---content in fish---ecologi-
cal effect--threat to man.
The following formula describes in quantitative
terms the relationship between the Hg-content in fish
(i.e. methyl mercury in l-kg pike) and the main gov-
erning factors that influence this value: water pH,
Table 18. Empirical data on total-P and the bioproduction
index (BPI) from 15 Swedish lakes of varying size and
limnological character. Data from various NLU publi-
cations
TotaI-P Area
Lake (/~g 1V ~ BPI lkm-') pH
degree of bioproduction and Hg-load (see H~kanson,
1980):
4.8,1og(I+ Hg~o'~200
,]
F(Hg) = (3)
(pH - 2)-log B P I '
where
F{Hg) = the content of methyl mercury in l-kg pike
in m e g - t wet weight;
Hgso = the weighted mean Hg-content of superficial
sediments, 0 - I cm, in ppb;
pH = the mean pH of the water system;
BPI = the bioproduction index.
This formula, which is based on a large but frag-
mentary empirical material, shows; for example (1)
that data from the sediments may be of great rele-
vance {BPI and Hgso), (2) that additional water data
ipH) may be needed if a further resolution is
requested lit is theoretically possible to use pH data
from the sediments also in this context, but that has
not been empirically demonstrated), (3) that the BPI-
value, at least in this particular case, can be a useful
measure of lake sensitivity to toxic substances.
If we try to use the general knowledge available
concerning the appearance of the given substances
(PCB, He, Cd, Pb, As, Cr, Cu and Zn) in limnic sys-

Vhsman l3 2.0-4.0 54.3 6.8 8

Jl
Ovre Hillen 19 4.5-5.0 4.4 7.1
Leran 26 3.7-5.4 2.8 6.9
Norra Barken 22 4.5-5.8 28.0 7.0
Siklra Barken 27 4.4-5.3 20.5 7.0
Stora Aspen 23 4.3-6.2 5.9 7.2
Magsj6n 30 5.1-5.5 1.2 6.9
Ostersji~n 31 4.1-5.7 1.3 7.1
Freden 48 4.5 5.8 5.0 7.2
Noren 21 4.7 -5.2 1.6 7.0
Triitten 58 5.0-6. l I ~0 7.2
Viittern 5 2.9 1856 7.6 o lo 20 30 4.0 50 60 70(/~/t)
V~inern 8 2.9 5648 7l Total-P
Blacken 34 5.0 9t 7.5
Storhj~.lmaren 70 6.3 388 7.5 Fig. 5, The relationship between total-P in water and the
bioproduction index for the lakes listed in Table 18.
 An ecological risk index for aquatic pollution control
terns of different bioproductivity (see, e.g. Bowen,
1966; EPA, 1973; Beijer et al., 1977; Olsson, 1977),
then the following arguments can be put forward:
(1) All the metals, except for As which is assumed to
show a special pattern in water and sediment, appear
to be related to the degree of bioproduction in, princi-.
pally, the same way as Hg, i.e. the negative effects
tend to increase with decreasing bioproduction. In
this approach, I have assumed that this effect is great-
est for Hg and on the same order of magnitude for the
other metals, i.e. Cd, Pb, Cr, Cu and Zn. Thus, I will
not try to differentiate the impact of bioproduction on
the risk index for these five metals.
(2) PCB, and other lipophilic substances as well,
seems to respond in the opposite way, i.e. the negative
effects of PCB are assumed to increase with increasing
lake productivity.
Based on these two principles, and the previously
discussed sedimentological toxic factors (the St i-
values), we may define a factor called the toxic-
response factor (TrY-value), which accounts for both
the toxic factor requirement (the St~-value) and the
sensitivity requirement (given by the BPl-value) in the
following way for the given substances:
Substance St~-value TrY-value
PCB 40 40. BPI/5
Hg 40 40' 5/BPI
Cd 30 30' ,J5/~/B-PI
As 10 10
Pb 5 5' V'5/v/BPI
Cu 5 5" ,~'5/,,,/B~i
Cr 2 2"\,!51~,113p]
Zn I 1-v/5/x/BPI
The toxic-response factors (Tr *) are analogous to the
contamination factor (C~). The T#-factors have been
established accordingly for the eight substances:
PCB: The TrY-factor should increase with increas-
ing BPI-value. The TrY-value has been related to an
intermediate BPI-value (BPI = 5.0), which may be
looked upon as a reference or a normative value in
this context; i.e. all comparisons are related to con-
ditions characteristic for moderately eutrophic lakes.
Hg: The TrY-factor should decrease with increasing
BPl-value. This relationship should be more marked
for Hg than for the other metals.
Cd, Cr, Pb, Cn, Zn. The TrY-factor should decrease
with increasing BPI-value, but the range should be
smaller than for Hg. The normative factor chosen is
V'5/x/BPI.
As: The TrY-factor should not be related to the BPI-
value, i.e.be independent of lake bioproductivity.
After this discussion concerning the four basic
requirements (the concentration requirement, the
number requirement, the toxic factor requirement and
the sensitivity requirement), and the sedimentological
and toxicological presuppositions which have been
emphasized, we may define the potential ecological
~.R 14 ~- I
993
risk factor (Er ~) for a given substance and the poten-
tial ecological risk index for a given lake or sub-basin
(RI).
THE RISK FACTOR AND THE RISK INDEX
To quantitatively express the potential ecological
risk of a given contaminant in a given lake, we may
define the risk factor (Er i) accordingly:
Er i = Tri'C}, (4)
where
TrY= the toxic-response factor for a given sub-
stance;
C~ = the contamination factor.
The following terminology may be used to describe
the risk factor:
Er ~ < 40 ~ low potential ecological risk;
40 ~< Er i < 80 ~ moderate potential ecological
risk;
80 ~< Er i < 160 * considerable potential ecological
risk;
160 ~< Er ~ < 320 ~ high potential ecological risk;
Er i >i 320 = very high ecological risk at hand
for the substance in question.
Table 19 summarizes the risk factors for the investi-
gated Swedish lakes.
In analogy with the previous discussion concerning
the contamination factor (C~) and the degree of con-
tamination (C4), we may now define the requested
potential ecological risk index (RI) as the sum of the
risk factors, i.e.:
8 8
RI = ~ Eri= X Tri'C}' (5)
i=l /=1
The following terminology may be used for the RI-
value:
Ri < 150 =, low ecological risk for the lake/
basin;
150 ~< RI < 300 ~ moderate ecological risk for the
lake/basin;
300 ~< Ri < 600 ~ considerable ecological risk for
the lake/basin;
RI >/600 ~ very high ecological risk for the
lake/basin.
From Table 19 it is evident that the RI-values and
the Er~-values provide a good resolution for the inves-
tigated lakes; from RI = 1201 for Lake V~isman,
which leads the "risk-league" to Lake BysjiSn
(RI = 231).
The RI-values for the investigated lakes have been
ranked in Table 20.
The potential ecological risk of the contamination
in the lakes may now be described in quantitative
terms in the same manner as was previously done for
the contamination factors and the Ccvalues. This is a
step forward compared to the earlier discussion which
only considered concentrations.
994 LARS HAKANSON

Table 19. Risk factors (Eri-values) and risk indices (RI-values) for the investigated lakes and for a reference lake lwith
C) = 1 for all substances and BPI = 5.0~. It should be noted that all figures marked * are hypothetical and only included
to illustrate the working principle

Substance (St~-value)
Lake PCB Hg Cd Pb As Cr Cu Zn RI = S- Er'
(BPl-value) 40 40 30 5 10 2 5 1 ~~ 1

V~inern, 2.9 46* 372 55 9 20* 2 4 3 51 I

V~irmlandssj6n, 2.9 58* 497 59 9 20* 2 4 3 652
V~ittern, 2.9 116" 41 51" 14 15" 2 6 3 248
M~ilaren, 4.4 t41" 91 48 10 20* 3 11 2 326
Blacken, 5.0 160" 40 54 5 25* 6 12 3 305
Hj~ilmaren, 6.3 252* 38* 48* 6 30* I a 1 380
Bysj6n, 4.2 84* 67 46 5 25* 0 2 2 231
V~isman, 3.2 102" 750 199 81 50* t 11 7 1201
Haggen, 3.2 77* 50 101 12 30* 0 3 2 27_¢
Ovre Hillen, 4.9 196" 335 136 17 40* l 9 7 74t
Norra Barken, 5.3 297* 143 254 56 40* 1 10 12 ~13
Stora Aspen, 4.9 196" 78 145 71 80* 58 10 12 650
Am~inningen, 5.0 160" 44 75 27 40* 10 5 9 3"70
()stersjtin, 4.9 157" 102 58 10 50* 18 13 7 415
Freden, 5.2 166" 54 88 6 30* 9 6 6 365
Reference lake, 5.0 40 40 30 5 I0 2 5 1 133
(C~- = 1 for all
substances)

We may now use the data to point out some differ-
ences of principal interest in pollutional profile
between some of the investigated lakes.
That is, a comparison between the results given in
Tables 11 and 20.
(1) Type case: Lake Stora Aspen
This lake is in the pole position in terms of the
Cd-value. But it is "only" in fifth position in the "risk-
league". The reason for this change is that Lake Stora
Aspen has a contamination profile which is domin-
ated by three elements, Cr, Pb and Zn, with rather
low sedimentological toxic factors (STY). For example,
Cr has a contamination factor of 28.8, which is very
high, and a risk factor of 58, which is moderately
high.
The sequence of the C~-value is:
Cr> Pb>Zn>As* > PCB*>Cd>Cu>Hg
And the sequence for the risk factors is:
PCB*> Cd> As*> H8> Pb>Cr > Z n > Cu
Thus, if we take into account the toxicity of the sub-
stances, the "sink-effect" andr the lake sensitivity, then
we get a different picture of the contamination. The
potential problem is not with Cr, Pb and Zn as might
have been anticipated, but rather with PCB*, Cd and
As*.
It should be noted that, for example, Pb has a
rather low sedimentological toxic factor, which only
signifies that Pb is one of the elements which gives a
rather strong "fingerprint" in lake sediments and has
been attributed a moderately high toxic value accord-
ing to the "abundance principle". It does not in any
way imply that Pb in general terms is a relatively
harmless environmental pollutant.
(2) Type case: Lake Viinern
The contamination profile of Lake V~inern is totally
dominated by Hg. The risk index is 511, which is high
and signifies that the take, especially the eastern main
basin--V~irmlandssj6n, is seriously affected by the
Hg-contamination. This is in good agreement with
the available knowledge on Hg in sediment and fish
in the lake (see SNV, 1978). The risk factor (Er i) for
Hg is 372, which corresponds to about 75~,~ of the
RI-value. The rest of the investigated substances in
Lake V~inern give only moderate or small risk factors.
(3) Type case: Lake Vi~sman
Lake V~sman has, up to now, been regarded as a
clean lake with large Secci-disc transparency and
excellent fishing. The given contamination profile
does not agree with this positive view of Lake
Viisman. There are strong indications that the metal
contamination was initiated in 1976 with dredging
operations in Lake Saxen, which is located very close
to Lake Viisman in north-west. We will not discuss
this "affair" in this context, only state that this serious
contamination has not been previously known.
The results from Lake VEsman may be used to
illustrate the advantages in control work to have
access to the contamination factor and the Cd-value
as well as the risk factor and the RI-value. In Lake
V~isman we have large contamination factors for Pb,
Hg, Zn and Cd, which indicate the source of the pol-
lution, but not necessarily the ecological significance
of the contamination. The risk factors may be used to
distinguish which substances should be paid the most
attention: in this case it is Hg and Cd. The Zn-
pollution, for example, may be attended with low
priority.
 An ecological risk index for aquatic pollution control 995

N
A

A ~N~ AAA
A A ~ U AA

ON AA II
~A A
A ~~A I I A A
A ^

AAA
AAA A AA~AAAA

AAA
AAA A
~.~ ,~

0 II1

^~
A AA AAe A A

A A
^

A
III

~1 fflltl I tli

e.

c-

O''-
I'N ~ ' ~ : ~_ I~I i~I
I~:0

,.1 Z:O>~

009 ~ I~l 009 >III ~ 00C 0~I > I!!

~[qe~p!suo~) ~leJ~poiN

(I~1) x~pu! ~s!8

096 LARS H \KANSON

Fable 21. The relationshap between the contamination factors {C)) and the ('i,..-~alues li.e. the mean
content in ppm of the substance in superficial sediments 0 1 cm from accumulations areas! for a gixen
risk factor {Er') of 50 and a constant bioproduction index IBPII of 5.0

Contamination Preindustrial Mean superficial

Toxic factor factor reference level >ediment content
Substance ISt'-value) !(.'::.-value) !C',-valuei i(",~-~-value)
PCB 40 1.25 0.01 0,013
Hg 40 1.25 0,25 0.31
Cd 30 1.67 1.0 1.67
3ks 10 5.0 15 75
Pb 5 10.0 70 700
Cu 5 10.0 50 500
Cr 2 25.0 90 2250
Zn l 50.0 175 8750

To get a proper understanding of the factors upon
which this sedimentological model is built, we may
perform the following tests:
(1) What is the significance of a risk factor of, let us
say, Er~= 50'? This is the limit between low and
moderate potential ecological effect.
Assume that the lake has a BPI-value of 5.0.
The result for the given substances is shown in
Table 21.
The toxic factors in the second column are to be
looked upon as normative constants. The contami-
nation factors in the third column are determined
from equation (4), i.e.:
50
c)=~.
The preindustrial reference values for the sediments
(C~,) are to be considered as constants.
The mean superficial sediment contents for the
various substances (last column) have been deter-
mined from equation (2), i.e.:
o-1 = Q - C . .
The last column illustrates that a sediment content
of, e.g. 8750 for Zn, 2250 for Cr, 700 for Pb, 1.67 for
Cd and 0.3l for Hg, would give rise to a comparable
moderate ecological risk in lakes with moderate levels
of bioproduction (BPI = 5.0).
The crucial point is not that this should always be
valid, which evidently cannot be true, but rather that
the obtained values provide a frame-work for com-
parisons. The approach provides data in a quick,
inexpensive and standardized manner, which are to be
looked upon as reference figures--a discrepancy from
this reference value may often be just as important
and informative as a value which seems to agree with
prevalent knowledge.
(2) It is even more interesting to apply the same test
to the limitation value between high and very high
potential ecological risk, i.e. E f = 320. The results are
given in Table 22.
For moderately bioproductive lakes, with a BPI-
value of 5.0, we can see from this table that a sedi-
ment contamination of Zn = 56,000, Cr = 17,700,
Cu = 3200, Pb = 7780, As = 780, Cd = 10.7,
Hg --- 2.0 and PCB -- 0.08 would yield the same eco-
logical risk factor ( E l = 320). It is very difficult
indeed to really check the validity of this information:
ecological risk--for what biological systems, species,
organs? The values for Hg (C0-1 i = 2.0) have, how-
ever, a substantial relevance, since many blacklisted
eutrophic lakes and basins have C~_l-values in this
range, e.g. Lake Ovre Hillen (C0-1 -i = 2.04) and Lake
Nedre Hillen (C~_ L = 1.54) (see H~kanson, 1979).
But this is only one aspect. If we take the value for Zn
as another example, then the first notation is that
C~_t-values in the range of 60,000 are very rare
indeed. Such sediment contents have been obtained in
zinc-sand deposits outside zinc-mines, e.g. in northern
Lake V~ttern (see H:~kanson & Uhrberg, 1976). In
northern Lake V~ittern the bottom fauna has been

Table 22. The relationship between the contamination factors iC~.) and the C~_ t-values (in ppm) for a
given risk factor (El) of 320 and a constant bioproduction index {BPI} of 5.0

Contamination Preindustrial Mean superficial

Toxic factor factor reference level sediment content
Substance (StCvalue) {C ~--value) (C~,-value) (CIj- ~-value)

PCB 40 8.0 0.0l 0.08

Hg 40 8.0 0.25 2.0
Cd 30 10.7 1.0 10.7
As 10 32.0 15 480
Pb 5 64.0 70 4480
Cu 5 64.0 50 3200
Cr 2 160 90 14,400
Zn i 320 175 56,000
 An ecological risk index for aquatic pollution control
considerably altered and emaciated (see Grimhs,
1973). But is this due to high Zn-contamination? Or is
it a consequence of contamination from other ele-
ments appearing together with Zn, e.g. Cd or Cu? It is
at present more or less impossible to answer such
questions, and in this context we have to accept the
results for what they are---namely, readily determined
diagnostic values indicating that further investigations
should be focused on elements appearing with high or
very high risk factors.
A C O N T R O L TEST
It has already been emphasized that it is often very
difficult or impossible to make a clear-cut verdict as
to the cause of a given ecological disturbance in a
water system. It may be hard enough to distinguish
an antropogeneous disturbance from natural fluctua-
tions. Consequently, it is very difficult to adequately
test any ecological risk index or risk factor; this prob-
lem is rather analogous to tile difficulty in interpret-
ing, e.g. LC50-values. It should also be added that at
present there is a very fragmentary knowledge con-
cerning ecological effects for most substances and ele-
monts in limnic systems. The following test should be
regarded with these facts in mind. The aim of the test
is that it should illustrate the benefits and limitations
of this approach for one type element: mercury. The
crucial points are to link registered concentrations of
Hg in water and sediments io Hg in fish and then to
effects on man or in nature.
Analysis of meat from 1-kg pike is the generally
accepted reference measure, which has been used for
many years to account for the variation that depends
on species of fish, age, size, sex, fish organ etc. W.¢ will
subsequently compare the contamination factor for
mercury (C~s) and the risk factor for Hg (Er as) with
empirically determined mean Hg-contents of 1-kg
pike, F(Hg),mp. To illustrate the applicability of for-
mula (3), as a more sophisticated diagnostic tool in
aquatic pollution control, compared to the Eri-value
and the C~-value, we will also show the correlation
between the theoretically determined Hg-contents in
1-kg pike, F(Hg), and the F(HgLmp-values, as well as
the corresponding correlations between F(Hg),mp and
the factors that are functionally related to the F(Hg)-
value, i.e. pH, BPI and Hg-content of superficial sedi-
ments. The lakes in this particular test have been
selected because from these lakes there are, if not ade-
quate then at least empirical data covering a broad
range of the actual factors, i.e. pH 4.8-7.6, BPI
2.5-5.2, Hgmax (i.e. maximum Hg-content of superficial
sediments) 310-10 400 and Hgso (or Iqg) in the range
80-2040. The raw data utilized in this test emanate
from various sources (see H:~kanson, 1980). The result
is given in Table 23.
It may be noted that:
The correlation between F(Hg), and F(HgLmp is
very good indeed, r = 0.86.
The correlation between the risk factor (Er H~) and
997
the F{Hg),=, is quite good; r = 0.43, which is signifi-
cant at the 900o level.
The correlation between the contamination factor
{C~s) and the F(Hg)mv-value is significant at the 75%
level, r = 0.31 (The same thing is, of course, also valid
for the mean/median Hg-content of superficial sedi-
ments}.
The correlation between F(Hg),mp and maximum
Hg-content of superficial sediments is rather low;
r = 0.22, which is statistically significant at the 60°,/o
level. The necessity of using several sediment samples,
which provide an even area cover of the lake/basin,
increases with lake size,
The negative correlation between the bioproduc-
tion index (BPI) and the F(HgLm~-value is significant
at fhe 75°o level, r = -0.31.
The negative correlation between pH and Hg-
content in pike is rather good in this particular ma-
terial; r = -0.61, which is significant at the 99°~o
level.
The correlation between F(Hg),=p and lake area is,
as expected, not significant.
One conclusion of this test is that neither pH, BPI
or Hg-content in sediments can alone be utilized to
adequately describe the Hg-content in 1-kg pike. but
taken together, as in formula (3), they will provide a
very effective diagnostic tool to estimate a probable
Hg-content in fish.
The results from Table 23 may also be used to
illustrate the significance of the working hypothesis of
this approach, namely that by accounting for the
toxic factor requirement and the sensitivity require-
ment, we get a better resolution and a more adequate
result than by using just the contamination factor.
Considering mercury in lakes, we may emphasize
that formula (3) "tells most of the story", the risk
factor gives a lesser resolution, but still a significant
"part of the story", and the contamination factor pro-
vides very rough information on the potential ecologi-
cal risks.
COMMENTS AND SUMMARY
The aim of this work has been to penetrate one of
many possible avenues towards a potential ecological
risk index to be used as a diagnostic tool for water
pollution control purposes. It is evident that the diffi-
culties increase exponentially on the way from dose to
response, and that any risk factor or risk index will
yield only a limited resolution. This approach is
focused on lake sediments and parameters that may
be determined in a rapid, inexpensive and standard-
ized manner from a limited number of sediment
samples. It is built on a working hypothesis that a
risk index should account for, at least, the following
four requirements:
(1) The concentration requirement:
A. Accumulation bottom deposits from the 0-1
sediment layer:
998 LAgs HAKANSON

~E

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ - ~

~2L ~,
U.J _~ ~ ~

~'~' O
~1 ~ ' ~ - ,

o.

.~ ~ A

0. ° ~ . °

~oo~
._~ ~._~

:'o

oo ~

.~._~
soNwl so~lel so~l
m ~ s ~ q l o ~ Jo^!~i pu~ImJ~A xs~oo l s ; ~
±8
 An ecological risk index for aquatic pollution control
B. Minimum 5 sediment samples providing an even
area cover of the lake/basin.
C. Standardized set of natural background levels or
rather preindustrial reference levels (C/,) for the sub-
stances to be considered. These levels have been de-
termined from about 50 lakes from Europe and
America, accordingly (in ppm): PCB = 0.01,
Hg=0.25, CA=I.0, As=15, Cu=50, Pb=70,
Cr = 90 and Zn = 175. They represent the "upper
limit".
D. A quotient between the mean content of super-
ficial sediment (~0-1) and the preindustrial reference
level (Ci.), i.e.:
c}= c:
where C~ is called the contamination factor.
(2) The number requirement, which is built on the
following ideas:
A. For practical purposes only a limited number of
substances can be used, determined from sediment
samples as "total content".
B. Substances appearing in a similar manner in
limnic water systems may be represented by one type
substance.
C. This approach should account for toxic sub-
stances, and the following have been selected: PCB,
H& Cd, As, Cu, Pb, Cr and Zn.
D. The degree of contamination (C~), which
accounts for the number requirement in a quantitat-
ive way, is defined as the sum of the contamination
factors (C~), i.e.:
$
c,= Ec>
J=l
The C~-value and the C4-value may be used to give a
standardized description of sediment contamination.
This is the first step towards a risk index.
(3) The toxic factor requirement should account for
the fact that various substances have different toxic
effects (compare e.g. LCS0-values) in aquatic systems.
The following principles have been discussed:
A. The "abundance principle"---saying that there
exists a proportionality between toxicity and rarity.
The "abundance number" has been determined from
concentrations in igneous rocks, soils, fresh water,
land plants and land animals. The following order
was obtained between the metals:
Zn (1.0) < Cu (3.4) < Pb (13) < Cr (140)
< As (140) < Cd (230) < Hg(ll60)
B. The "sink-effect", saying that different elements
make different "fingerprints" in lake sediments. A
"sink-factor" has been determined from the quotient
between the natural background concentrations in
fresh water for the metals and the preindustrial refer-
999
ence values for lake sediments, accordingly:
Cr (2) < As (27) < Zn (57) < Pb (71)
< Cd = Cu (200) < Hg (320)
C. The "dimension problem", saying that the
requested risk index must be based on factors of com-
parable dimension.
D. A "sedimentological toxic factor" (St~) for each
substance has been derived from these premises. The
St~-value is a constant analogous to the preindustrial
reference level (C~). The following values were
obtained:
Zn= 1 <Cr=2<Cu=Pb=5
<As= 10<Cd=30<Hg=PCB=40
(4) The sensitivity requirement, saying that different
lakes/basins have different sensitivity to different toxic
substances.
A. "A sensitivity factor" should, in the present con-
text, be based on the same sediments as used to deter-
mine the contents of the toxic substances.
B. The bioproduction index (BPI-value) has been
used as a "sensitivity factor". The BPI-value is deter-
mined from data on nitrogen content and organic
content (ignition loss = IG) as the N-content on the
regression line that corresponds to IG = 10%.
C. The bioproduction index, BPI = 5.0, which is
characteristic for moderately eutrophic and biopro-
ductive waters, has been used as a reference concern-
ing lake sensitivity.
D. A "toxic-response" factor Err i) which accounts
for the "seclimentological toxic factor" (St~) and the
sensitivity requirement, as this is given by the BPI-
values, has been defined in the following way for the
actual substances:
PCB = 40. BPI/5, Hg = 40.5/BPI, Cd = 30.x/~/
~ , As = 10 (independent of BPI), Pb = Cu = 5"
.v/-5/~/-B-P-i,Cr = 2. ~/5/~/B--P-[and Zn - - 1..jcS/,,/B-PI
(5) The potential ecological risk factor for any given
substance has been defined as:
Er i = Tr" C~
(6) The potential ecological risk index for any given
lake or basin has been defined as:
8
RI = Z Er;
i=l
These results have been tested on 15 Swedish lakes
which represent a great spread in terms of size, pollu-
tional status, trophic status, etc. The main purposes
with these tests have been to illustrate the general
working principle of this risk index approach and to
show how these concepts may be used in practice in
environmental pollution control issues.
The use of the risk factors and the risk index means
that a second step towards a diagnostic tool to estab-
1000 LARS H ~KANSON
lish ecological effects has been taken. The main
advantages with these two steps, first the contami-
nation factor and the degree of contamination and
then the risk factors and the risk index, are that they
may be used to optimize resources in very compli-
cated economical and ecological issues, so that efforts
are focused on substances that show high risk factors.
There are very many interesting and important
aspects that have been deliberately ignored in this
context, e.g.
(1) The impact of pH, Eh, alkalinity on the toxicity
of the substances.
12) The impact of morphometry (lake form. bottom
roughness, size, volume etct and hydrology (retention
time, water flow, flow pattern etc) on the sedimentolo-
gical "fingerprint".
(3) Alternative expressions for lake sensitivity, e.g.
chlorophyll and algae volume.
(4) The relationship between type of pollution vs
form of metal vs toxicity.
(5) Alternative substances or groups of substances,
e.g. oil or PAH.
These are 5 important issues that have not been
discussed. An interesting field for further work would
be to study the possibilities to improve the given risk
factors and risk index with this type of information.
This would narrow the present gap in knowledge
between dose and response.
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