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Article | Tropical Aquatic and Soil Pollution | Volume 1 - Issue 2 - 2021 | 74-86 | https://doi.org/10.53623/tasp.v1i2.20
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Level and Distribution of Heavy Metals in Miri River, Malaysia

Author(s): Amit Kumar Maharjan 1 , Dick Rong En Wong 2 , Rubiyatno Rubiyatno 3
Author(s) information:
1 Interdisciplinary Centre for River Basin Environment, University of Yamanashi, Japan
2 Faculty of Engineering and Science, Curtin University, CDT250 Miri 98009, Malaysia
3 Integrated Graduate School of Medicine, Engineering, and Agricultural Sciences, University of Yamanashi, Japan

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Tropical Aquatic and Soil Pollution

Volume 1 - Issue 2 - 2021

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The heavy metals pollution in the water resource has become a serious and hazardous environmental problem all over the world because of non-biodegradability, emanating from multiple sources, easy accumulation, and biological toxicity. This research was carried out to study the level and distribution of heavy metals at different sampling locations (upstream, midstream, and downstream), at different depths (0.5 m and 1.5 m from surface water level), and during low tide and high tide conditions in the Miri River of Miri City in Malaysia. The river water samples were collected and analyzed for Ca, Mg, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Concentration of Ca was found to be the highest in the Miri River, followed by Mg and Fe, and with traces of Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn. Increment in the concentration of heavy metals, such as Cu, Mg, and Ni, was observed while flowing from upstream to downstream of the Miri River. Concentration of heavy metals, such as Ca, Mg, Cu, and Zn, were clearly lower at 1.5 m depth than at 0.5 m depth. High tides in the river decreased the concentration of heavy metals, such as Ca, Cu, Mn, and Ni, than during low tides. From this research, it gets clear that using the Miri River water for domestic and recreational purposes, washing, and fishing is detrimental to human health and the environment.
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SUBMITTED: 22 July 2021
ACCEPTED: 01 September 2021
PUBLISHED: 25 October 2021
SUBMITTED to ACCEPTED: 41 days
DOI: https://doi.org/10.53623/tasp.v1i2.20

Cite this article
Maharjan, A. K., Wong, D. R. E., & Rubiyatno, R. (2021). Level and Distribution of Heavy Metals in Miri River, Malaysia. Tropical Aquatic and Soil Pollution, 1(2), 74–86. https://doi.org/10.53623/tasp.v1i2.20
Keywords
Heavy metals rainwater roof-collected seasonal physicochemical analysis
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