Lessons Learnt from the Revitalisation of Chemical Factory in Marktredwitz and River Banks Downstream: When ‘Renaturation’ Can Be Harmful

0564359 - ÚACH 2023 RIV CH eng J - Journal Article
Matys Grygar, Tomáš - Hošek, Michal - Navrátil, Tomáš - Bednárek, J. - Hönig, J. - Elznicová, J. - Pacina, J. - Rohovec, Jan - Sedláček, J. - Sass, O.
Lessons Learnt from the Revitalisation of Chemical Factory in Marktredwitz and River Banks Downstream: When ‘Renaturation’ Can Be Harmful.
Water. Roč. 14, č. 21 (2022), č. článku 3481. E-ISSN 2073-4441
R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA20-06728S
Institutional support: RVO:61388980 ; RVO:67985831
Keywords : contaminated rivers * embankment * mercury * renaturation * revitalisation
OECD category: Environmental sciences (social aspects to be 5.7); Environmental sciences (social aspects to be 5.7) (GLU-S)
Impact factor: 3.4, year: 2022
Method of publishing: Open access

Our study addressed mercury contamination hotspots that originated from Chemical Factory Marktredwitz, Germany. The factory was abandoned in 1985 but its legacy has been persistently endangering the river ecosystem of the Ohře River, a Labe (Elbe) River tributary in the Czech Republic. We identified the timing for the peak contamination of fine sediments entering the Skalka Reservoir located on the Ohře River downstream of the Czech German boundary. Age constraints for the reservoir sediments were obtained using gamma spectrometry analyses of 137Cs and unsupported (excess) 210Pb. We also summarised historical and current Hg concentrations in suspended particulate matter in the Kössein–Röslau–Ohře river system and recent Hg concentrations in aquatic plants. Secondary contamination and its transfer to the Czech stretch of the Ohře River and the Skalka Reservoir through severely contaminated suspended material peaked during the period of factory closure and the start of remediation. The Hg contamination import to the Czech Republic is not likely to improve if the river is left without traditional management of bank reinforcement. This case study highlights a gap in safety regulations for the management of severely contaminated rivers and demonstrates the need to consider the role of historical contamination in river ‘renaturation’.
Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0336042