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...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Siong, Fong Sim, Hui, Ping Chai, Lee, Nyanti, Teck, Yee Ling, Jongkar, Grinang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Springer International Publishing 2016
Subjects:
Online Access:http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/13697/
http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/13697/1/Siong.pdf
_version_ 1848837463504584704
author Siong, Fong Sim
Hui, Ping Chai
Lee, Nyanti
Teck, Yee Ling
Jongkar, Grinang
author_facet Siong, Fong Sim
Hui, Ping Chai
Lee, Nyanti
Teck, Yee Ling
Jongkar, Grinang
author_sort Siong, Fong Sim
building UNIMAS Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description 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.
first_indexed 2025-11-15T06:40:04Z
format Article
id unimas-13697
institution Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
institution_category Local University
language English
last_indexed 2025-11-15T06:40:04Z
publishDate 2016
publisher Springer International Publishing
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling unimas-136972021-06-09T16:13:46Z http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/13697/ Baseline trace metals in water and sediment of the Baleh River—a tropical river in Sarawak, Malaysia Siong, Fong Sim Hui, Ping Chai Lee, Nyanti Teck, Yee Ling Jongkar, Grinang GE Environmental Sciences 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. Springer International Publishing 2016 Article PeerReviewed text en http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/13697/1/Siong.pdf Siong, Fong Sim and Hui, Ping Chai and Lee, Nyanti and Teck, Yee Ling and Jongkar, Grinang (2016) Baseline trace metals in water and sediment of the Baleh River—a tropical river in Sarawak, Malaysia. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 188 (357). ISSN 1573-2959 http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10661-016-5553-3 doi:10.1007/s10661-016-5553-3
spellingShingle GE Environmental Sciences
Siong, Fong Sim
Hui, Ping Chai
Lee, Nyanti
Teck, Yee Ling
Jongkar, Grinang
Baseline trace metals in water and sediment of the Baleh River—a tropical river in Sarawak, Malaysia
title Baseline trace metals in water and sediment of the Baleh River—a tropical river in Sarawak, Malaysia
title_full Baseline trace metals in water and sediment of the Baleh River—a tropical river in Sarawak, Malaysia
title_fullStr Baseline trace metals in water and sediment of the Baleh River—a tropical river in Sarawak, Malaysia
title_full_unstemmed Baseline trace metals in water and sediment of the Baleh River—a tropical river in Sarawak, Malaysia
title_short Baseline trace metals in water and sediment of the Baleh River—a tropical river in Sarawak, Malaysia
title_sort baseline trace metals in water and sediment of the baleh river—a tropical river in sarawak, malaysia
topic GE Environmental Sciences
url http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/13697/
http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/13697/
http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/13697/
http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/13697/1/Siong.pdf