%0 Journal Article
%T Marine Environmental Risk Assessment of Sungai Kilim, Langkawi, Malaysia: Heavy Metal Enrichment Factors in Sediments as Assessment Indexes
%A Jamil Tajam
%A Mohd Lias Kamal
%J International Journal of Oceanography
%D 2013
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2013/482451
%X Concentrations of Cd, Co, Pb, and Zn in riverbed sediments from six sampling stations along the Sungai Kilim, Langkawi, Malaysia, were determined by using the Teflon Bomb Digestion. From this study, the concentrations of heavy metals in riverbed sediments were found ranging between 6.10 and 8.87£¿¦Ìg/g dry weight for Co, 0.03 and 0.45£¿¦Ìg/g dry weight for Cd, 59.8 and 74.9£¿¦Ìg/g dry weight for Zn, and 1.06 and 11.69£¿¦Ìg/g dry weight for Pb. From the observation, these areas were polluted by domestic waste, aquaculture, and tourism activities. For clarity, enrichment factor index was used to determine the level of sediment contamination in the study area. From this study, the average EF value is a bit high for Cd ( ) followed by Zn ( ), Pb ( ), and lastly, Co ( ). Based on the contamination categories, Cd was categorised as moderately enriched, while the rest of the metals studied were in deficient-to-minimally enriched by the anthropogenic sources. 1. Introduction Heavy metals are one of the most poisonous and serious groups of pollutants due to their high toxicity, abundance, and ease of accumulation from various plants and animals. It has been accepted that heavy metals can exist in the environment deriving from a variety of natural and anthropogenic sources. The phenomena of erosion, acidification, and weathering processes have brought input of these metals into the environment in a natural way. According to Idris [1], the natural occurrence of heavy metals in aquatic environments and their movement through the hydrocycle in addition to the inputs from anthropogenic activities reflect their ubiquity and complexity. Meanwhile, human activities also contribute to the existence of these metals such as industrial processes, agricultural and aquaculture activities, domestic wastes, and emission from vehicles [2]. Nowadays, these anthropogenic heavy metals contribute to the uppermost pollution to the aquatic environment, especially in the sediment. Sediment plays a major role in determining the pollution pattern of marine ecosystem [3]. According to Singh et al. [4] and Mwamburi [5], the sediments can act as both carriers and sinks for contaminants, reflecting the history of pollution while also providing a record of catchment inputs into the aquatic ecosystem. On the other hand, sediment can play a significant role as a scavenger agent for heavy metals, and an adsorptive sink in marine environment [6, 7]. Tsugonai and Yamada [8] further explained that aquatic sediment can act as scavengers of metals in the environment due to its several, sulfides, organic
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijocean/2013/482451/