Pollution and ecological risk assessment, and source identification of heavy metals in sediment from the Beibu Gulf, South China Sea.

The Beibu Gulf is an important passageway between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, where there has been an increase in pollution of heavy metals (HMs). High concentrations of Pb, Cr, Cd, Cu, Zn, As, and Hg in surface sediment were found in Qinzhou Bay, Fangchenggang, and other coastal areas. Stochastic geo-accumulation analyses identified the pollution to be "uncontaminated"; however, it had an 18% probability of deterioration.