Assessment of contamination of the selected compounds of the Bílina River ecosystem (Elbe River basin, Czech Republic)
Abstract
The main results of the Bílina River ecosystem contamination: - sediment´s contamination: heavy metals concentrations in the upper profiles (As, Be, Cd) of the Bílina River are probably caused by natural background. Pollution in the middle and lower parts (As, Cr, Cu, Hg, Pb, V, Zn, PCB, OCP, C10-C40) by anthropogenic activity. - sediment´s toxicity and genotoxicity: significant toxicity was detected in central profiles of the Bílina River; genotoxicity in almost all profiles - bioaccumulation of pollutants in the Dreissena polymorpha biomass: upper profiles: Cr, Cd, Pb; central profiles: Cr, V, PCB´s; downstream profiles: Cr, Hg, DDT - fish population composition and fish biomass contamination: 19 fish species were detected in the Bílina River; absence of fish in the central profiles; biomass contamination in the Bílina River profiles differs both in fish species and specific pollutants.