Baseline trace metals in water and sediment of the Baleh River—a tropical river in Sarawak, Malaysia
Quantitative indices are classically employed to evaluate the contamination status of metals with reference to the baseline concentrations. The baselines vary considerably across different geographical zones. It is imperative to determine the local geochemical baseline to evaluate the contamina...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Springer International Publishing
2016
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/13697/ http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/13697/1/Siong.pdf |
| Summary: | Quantitative indices are classically employed
to evaluate the contamination status of metals with
reference to the baseline concentrations. The baselines
vary considerably across different geographical zones. It
is imperative to determine the local geochemical baseline
to evaluate the contamination status. No study has
been done to establish the background concentrations in
tropical rivers of this region. This paper reports the
background concentrations of metals in water and sediment
of the Baleh River, Sarawak, derived based on the
statistical methods where the areas possibly disturbed
are distinguished from the undisturbed area. The baseline
levels of six elements in water determined were Al
(0.34 mg/L), Fe (0.51 mg/L), Mn (0.12 mg/L), Cu
(0.01 mg/L), Pb (0.03 mg/L), and Zn (0.05 mg/L).
Arsenic and selenium were below the detection limit.
For sediment, the background values were established
according to statistical methods including (mean + 2σ),
iterative 2σ, cumulative distribution frequency, interquartile,
and calculation distribution function. The background
values derived using the iterative 2σ algorithm
and calculated distribution function were relatively lower.
The baseline levels calculated were within the range
reported in the literatures mainly from tropical and subtropical
regions. The upper limits proposed for nine
elements in sediment were Al (100,879 mg/kg), Cr
(75.45 mg/kg), Cu (34.59 mg/kg), Fe (37,823 mg/kg),
Mn (793 mg/kg), Ni (22.88 mg/kg), Pb (27.26 mg/kg),
Zn (70.64 mg/kg), and Hg (0.33 mg/kg). Quantitative
indices calculated suggest low risk of contamination at
the Baleh River. |
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