Abstract
Heavy Metals in Soil of the Tropical Climate Bauxite Mining Area in Malaysia
Highlights
Bauxite is a reddish clay with a pisolitic structure, earthy lustre and a low specific gravity.[1]
The 18,000 ha area in Kuantan, Pahang is heavily mined for bauxite and this area is occupied with basalt composed of Al2O3 (12%–13%), Fe2O3 (3%–6%), FeO (7%–8%), TiO2 (1%–2%), Cr2O3 (0.02%) and NiO (0.01%).[4,5,6]
Elements detected were divided into three categories, namely: (1) elements that can cause cancer or carcinogenic health effects; (2) elements that cause non-carcinogenic health effects such as irritation, respiratory problems, kidney problem, etc.; and (3) elements that have not been reported of their concern to human health or tracers
Summary
Bauxite is a reddish clay with a pisolitic structure, earthy lustre and a low specific gravity.[1] It is an ore form leached of other soluble materials from severely weathered rocks in a wet tropical and sub-tropical climate.[2] In tropical regions, lateritic bauxite or silicate bauxites ores are largely formed by the weathering process of silicate rocks and these ores contain the highest concentration of aluminium.[1] The continuing demand for mineral supply has spurred the mining industry in Malaysia, with bauxite mining one of those in the metallic mineral sector.[3] The 18,000 ha area in Kuantan, Pahang is heavily mined for bauxite (found 1 m or 2 m below the soil layer) and this area is occupied with basalt composed of Al2O3 (12%–13%), Fe2O3 (3%–6%), FeO (7%–8%), TiO2 (1%–2%), Cr2O3 (0.02%) and NiO (0.01%).[4,5,6] The soil of Kuantan Series contains gibbsite, i.e., Al(OH)[3] mixed with goethite (FeOOH), kaolin and hematite (Fe2O3) that produce the red colour in the soil.[7,8] Detrimental environmental impacts from mining activities varied depending on mining technique, meteorological and geological conditions.[9,10] Recent environmental degradation and the potential impact to public health have triggered this study to measure the heavy metal contents in the soil samples from the mining area as the basis to validate the health risk concern
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