Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Environmental Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia, UPM, 43400, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
School of Biological Science, Universiti Sains Malaysia, USM, 11800, Penang, Malaysia.
Environ Geochem Health. 2017 Dec;39(6):1259-1271. doi: 10.1007/s10653-017-9971-0. Epub 2017 May 8.
The aim of the present study was to appraise the levels of heavy metal contamination (Zn and Pb) in sediment of the Langat River (Selangor, Malaysia). Samples were collected randomly from 15 sampling stations located along the Langat River. The parameters measured were pH, redox potential, salinity, electrical conductivity, loss of ignition, cation exchanges capacity (Na, Mg, Ca, K), and metal ions (Zn and Pb). The geo-accumulation index (I ) and contamination factor (C ) were applied to determine and classify the magnitude of heavy metal pollution in this urban river sediment. Results revealed that the I of Pb indicated unpolluted to moderately polluted sediment at most of the sampling stations, whereas Zn was considered to be within background concentration. The I results were refined by the C values, which showed Pb with very high C at 12 stations. Zinc, on the other hand, had low to moderate C values. These findings indicated that the sediment of the Langat River is severely polluted with Pb. The Zn concentration at most sampling points was well below most sediment quality guidelines. However, 40% of the sampling points were found to have a Pb concentration higher than the consensus-based probable effect concentration of 128 mg/kg (concentrations above this value are likely to cause harmful effects). This result not only highlights the severity of Pb pollution in the sediment of the Langat River, but also the potential risk it poses to the environment.
本研究旨在评估兰加特河（马来西亚雪兰莪州）沉积物中的重金属污染水平（Zn 和 Pb）。随机从兰加特河沿岸的 15 个采样点采集样品。测量的参数有 pH 值、氧化还原电位、盐度、电导率、灼烧损失、阳离子交换量（Na、Mg、Ca、K）和金属离子（Zn 和 Pb）。应用地质累积指数（I ）和污染因子（C ）来确定和分类城市河流沉积物中重金属污染的程度。结果表明，大多数采样点的 Pb 的 I 值表明沉积物为无污染到中度污染，而 Zn 被认为处于背景浓度范围内。C 值进一步细化了 I 值的结果，表明有 12 个站点的 Pb 具有非常高的 C 值。另一方面，Zn 的 C 值较低至中等。这些发现表明兰加特河的沉积物受到 Pb 的严重污染。大多数采样点的 Zn 浓度远低于大多数沉积物质量指南的要求。然而，有 40%的采样点的 Pb 浓度高于基于共识的可能影响浓度 128mg/kg（该值以上的浓度可能会造成有害影响）。这一结果不仅突显了兰加特河沉积物中 Pb 污染的严重性，还突显了其对环境构成的潜在风险。
