Source identification of Zn in Erren River, Taiwan: An application of Zn isotopes.

Source identification of environmental pollutants is critical for pollution prevention and controlling. In this work, Zn isotopic compositions and Zn spatial distribution from headwater to estuary of Erren River (ER) catchments (southern Taiwan) were systematically investigated as a potential source tracer for distinguishing natural weathering and anthropogenic activities. Industrial wastewaters/effluents including leather, printed circuit board (PCB), metal surface treatment (MST), semiconductor wafer (SCW), and electroplating (EP) industries were collected and analyzed as the potential sources of Zn isotopic database.