Determination of Heavy Metals in Water and Sediment of Batang Baleh

This study determines the concentration of selected heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Fe, Pb, Mn, Ni, Zn, and Hg) in water and sediment samples in order to assess the heavy metal pollution status in Batang Baleh. Composites of water and sediment samples were collected simultaneously at 18 sampling stations. Sel...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Chiam, Catherine Ee Ming
Format: Final Year Project Report / IMRAD
Language:English
English
Published: Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, (UNIMAS) 2015
Subjects:
Online Access:http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/11408/
http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/11408/3/Catherine%20Chiam%20Ee%20Ming%2024pgs.pdf
http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/11408/6/Catherine%20Chiam%20Ee%20Ming%20ft.pdf
Description
Summary:This study determines the concentration of selected heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Fe, Pb, Mn, Ni, Zn, and Hg) in water and sediment samples in order to assess the heavy metal pollution status in Batang Baleh. Composites of water and sediment samples were collected simultaneously at 18 sampling stations. Selected metals were analyzed using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer and a mercury analyzer. Metal concentrations of water ranged between 0.039-0.435 mg/L for Fe, 0.005-0.026 mg/L for Pb, 0.062-0.097 mg/L for Mn, 0.007-0.008 mg/L for Ni, and 0.006-0.015 µg/L for Hg. Meanwhile, for sediment, it ranged between 11.58-20.75 mg/kg for Cu, 12626.70-38623.37 mg/kg for Fe, 2.26-18.90 mg/kg for Pb, 35.51-389.77 mg/kg for Mn, 7.43-36.11 mg/kg for Ni, 17.78-58.48 mg/kg for Zn, and 0.0005-0.0747 mg/kg for Hg. The average metal concentrations in the water were lower than the National Water Quality Standards, Canadian Water Quality Guidelines, and National Recommended Water Quality Criteria by USEPA. The average concentration of studied metals in sediment was well below the Ontario Sediment Standards and Canadian Freshwater Sediment Guidelines. Assessment of contamination status by contamination factor, geo-accumulation index, and pollution load index suggests that there is no risk of contamination at the moment.