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Abstract
Heavy metal pollution is one of the major environmental issues in recent decades owing to the rapid increase in urbanisation and industrialisation. Sediments usually act as sinks for heavy metals due to their complex physical and chemical adsorption mechanisms. In this study, heavy metals like lead (Pb), Zinc (Zn), Cadmium (Cd), Copper (Cu) and Iron (Fe) in the surface sediment from 15 location (upstream and downstream) on the Perak River, Malaysia were investigated by means of inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). The geostatistical prediction map showed the range of Pb, Zn, Cd, Cu and Fe concentration in upstream area was 14.56–27.0 µg/g, 20–51.27 µg/g, 1.51–3.0 µg/g, 6.6–19.12 µg/g and 20.24–56.58%, respectively, and in downstream areas was 27.6–60.76 µg/g, 49.04–160.5 µg/g, 2.77–4.02 µg/g, 9.82–59.99 µg/g and 31.34–39.5%, respectively. Based on the enrichment factor and geoaccumulation index, Cd was found to be the most dominant pollutant in the study area. Pollution load index, sediment quality guidelines and sediment environmental toxicity quotient data showed that the downstream sediment was more polluted than the upstream sediment in the Perak River. The multivariate analysis showed that Pb, Zn and Cu mainly originated from natural sources with minor contribution from human activities, whereas Fe and Cd originated from various industrial and agricultural activities along the studied area.
Highlights
The pollution of the aquatic environment by heavy metals is a global problem because these metals are durable and most have toxic effects on living organisms when they are above certain concentrations [1,2]
Considering the socioeconomic significance of the Perak River as well as the process of sediment acting as a scavenger agent for heavy metals, it is vital to study the distribution and contamination of heavy metals in the surface sediment of the Perak River to understand the natural baseline levels to achieve and monitor the changes that may be affected by anthropogenic activities in the near future
Geostatistical analysis of heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn and Fe) in sediments from 15 sampling stations showed that concentration of target heavy metals varied in the order of Fe> Zn> Pb> Cu>
Summary
The pollution of the aquatic environment by heavy metals is a global problem because these metals are durable and most have toxic effects on living organisms when they are above certain concentrations [1,2]. Heavy metals are unable to be degraded either biologically or chemically they may be transported over long distances [2] Considering their persistence and transferable properties, a distribution analysis of heavy metals in sediment could be performed to analyse the anthropogenic impacts on heavy metal pollution along with a risk assessment. Considering the socioeconomic significance of the Perak River as well as the process of sediment acting as a scavenger agent for heavy metals, it is vital to study the distribution and contamination of heavy metals in the surface sediment of the Perak River to understand the natural baseline levels to achieve and monitor the changes that may be affected by anthropogenic activities in the near future. Future environmental planning strategies of the Perak River can be made through the understanding the distribution of heavy metals, and the present study can play a significant role in providing this baseline information
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