Assessment of metals concentration from a tropical river (Bioresources and Environment)

Abstract

Water quality is a significant issue for humanity since water is a very precious natural resource. Pollution is caused by expanding population and the need to provide services and products relying on water. In this study, water samples were collected from the Jengka River, Pahang, Malaysia. Selected metal concentrations (Al, Fe, Cu, Zn) were determined to assess possible sources and estimate the health risks of metal exposure from river water. The metal concentrations were analysed using atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) was employed to identify the possible sources of metal in water. The metal concentrations were found to be in the order of Al>Fe>Cu>Zn. The Metal Evaluation Index (MEI) suggests that the Jengka River is classified as high and medium metal levels according to the National Drinking Water Quality Standard (NDWSQ) and World Health Organization (WHO), respectively. HCA indicated that the metals came from both natural and anthropogenic sources. Children are more susceptible to non-cancer risk than adults based on health risk assessment (HRA). This study suggests that systematic monitoring of water quality indicators and a complete exposure assessment should be carried out.