Determination of selected heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni And Pb) in Isopterygium Albescens (Hook.) A. Jaeger in different altitude at Lawa Mandau Hill (Telipok To Kiulu)

• Main Author: Nurrul Fazlina Osman
• Format: Academic Exercise
• Language: English
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: QE Geology
• Online Access: https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/17653/1/Determination%20of%20selected%20heavy%20metals%20.pdf; https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/17653/

Moss Isopterygium albescens was used to determine heavy metals concentration in different altitude at Lawa Mandau Hill. The objectives of this study were to determine heavy metal (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni and Pb) pollution in Lawa Mandau Hill by using Isopterygium albescens as bioindicator, to compare the accumulation of heavy metal concentration in different altitude of Lawa Mandau Hill and to analyses the function of local climate conditions on the altitude distribution of heavy metal at Lawa Mandau Hill. There are three replicates of the moss samples taken from each sampling stations and each replicates were duplicated. Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometer (ICP-OES) was used to determine the accumulated concentration of each element As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni and Pb. The result from the ICPOES shows that station 5 and station 6 has the highest heavy metals contain in every station, whilst station 2 has the lowest amount. The accumulation concentration for element As is high in station 6, followed by station 1, station 5, station 7, station 3, station 2 and the lowest arsenic concentration is in station 4 with the accumulation mean and standard deviation 20.12±0.0032 pg/g, 17.26±0.0031 pg/g, 17.22±0.0038 pg/g, 16.75±0.0029 pg/g, 15.59±0.0038 pg/g, 14.10±0.0039 pg/g and 13.68±0.0041 pg/g respectively. The accumulation concentration for element Cr is high in station 5 followed by station 7, station 6, station 2, station 1, station 3 and last is station 4 with the accumulation mean and standard deviation 52.48±0.0342 pg/g, 18.82±0.0012 pg/g, 18.01±0.0132 pg/g, 15.48±0.0010 pg/g, 5.21±0.0038 pg/g, 2.78±0.0021 pg/g and 2.74±0.0021 pg/g respectively. While, for element Cu accumulation concentration for heavy metal is high in station 6 followed by station 5, station 3, station 7, station 4, station 1 and last is station 2 with the accumulation mean and standard deviation 145.23±0.7376 pg/g, 109.12±0.0463 pg/g, 60.67±0.0198 pg/g, 48.44±0.0097 pg/g, 43.65±0.0116 pg/g, 17.30±0.0101 pg/g and 8.13±0.0032 pg/g respectively. For element Ni, the high accumulation concentration of heavy metal is in station 5 followed by station 6, station 1, station 3, station 7, station 4 and last is station 2 with the accumulation mean and standard deviation 45.33±0.0197 pg/g, 36.19±0.0167 pg/g, 22.49±0.0059 pg/g, 17.84±0.0037 pg/g, 17.01±0.0043 pg/g, 16.85±0.0007 pg/g and 13.69±0.0019 pg/g respectively. Accumulation concentration of heavy metal for element Pb is high in station 6 followed by station 4, station 5, station 7, station 3, station 2 and last is station 1 with the accumulation mean and standard deviation 78.50±0.0687 pg/g, 10.43±0.0021 pg/g, 6.81±0.0023 pg/g, 6.33±0.0023 pg/g, 5.70±0.0023 pg/g, 5.13±0.0020 pg/g and 4.77±0.0016 pg/g respectively. But for element Cd, ICP-OES cannot detect the element for the whole station in this study. The local climate does affect the amount of the deposition of heavy metals in Lawa Mandau as it was related to the long range pollution transport as the source of heavy metals from biomass burning and anthropogenic was swept by the wind factors, deposited at the east side of Lawa Mandau where orographic precipitation occur and accumulated by the moss over the years. As a conclusion, I albescens is a good bioindicator and accumulator for element As, Cr, Cu, Ni and Pb but not for Cd and the local climate or the meteorological distribution around Lawa Mandau Hill does affecting the accumulation of heavy metals in the study area.