The prolonged persistence of toxic arsenic (As) in environment is due to its non-biodegradable characteristic. Meanwhile, several studies have reported higher concentrations of As in Langat River. However, it is the first study in Langat River Basin, Malaysia, that As concentrations in drinking water supply chain were determined simultaneously to predict the health risks of As ingestion. Water samples collected in 2015 from the four stages of drinking water supply chain were analysed for As concentration by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Determined As concentrations along with the time series data (2004-2015) were significantly within the maximum limit 0.01 mg/L of drinking water quality standard set by World Health Organization. The predicted As concentration by auto-regression moving average was 3.45E-03 mg/L in 2020 at 95% level based on time series data including climatic control variables. Long-term As ingestion via household filtration water at Langat Basin showed no potential lifetime cancer risk (LCR) 9.7E-06 (t = 6.68; p = 3.37E-08) as well as non-carcinogenic hazard quotient (HQ) 4.8E-02 (t = 6.68; p = 3.37E-08) risk at 95% level. However, the changing landscape, ex-mining ponds and extensive use of pesticides for palm oil plantation at Langat Basin are considered as the major sources of increased As concentration in Langat River. Therefore, a two-layer water filtration system at Langat Basin should be introduced to accelerate the achievement of sustainable development goal of getting safe drinking water supply.
The presence of toxic polonium-210 (Po-210) in the environment is due to the decay of primordial uranium-238. Meanwhile, several studies have reported elevated Po-210 radioactivity in the rivers around the world due to both natural and anthropogenic factors. However, the primary source of Po-210 in Langat River, Malaysia might be the natural weathering of granite rock along with mining, agriculture and industrial activities. Hence, this is the first study to determine the Po-210 activity in the drinking water supply chain in the Langat River Basin to simultaneously predict the human health risks of Po-210 ingestion. Therefore, water samples were collected in 2015⁻2016 from the four stages of the water supply chain to analyze by Alpha Spectrometry. Determined Po-210 activity, along with the influence of environmental parameters such as time-series rainfall, flood incidents and water flow data (2005⁻2015), was well within the maximum limit for drinking water quality standard proposed by the Ministry of Health Malaysia and World Health Organization. Moreover, the annual effective dose of Po-210 ingestion via drinking water supply chain indicates an acceptable carcinogenic risk for the populations in the Langat Basin at 95% confidence level; however, the estimated annual effective dose at the basin is higher than in many countries. Although several studies assume the carcinogenic risk of Po-210 ingestion to humans for a long time even at low activity, however, there is no significant causal study which links Po-210 ingestion via drinking water and cancer risk of the human. Since the conventional coagulation method is unable to remove Po-210 entirely from the treated water, introducing a two-layer water filtration system at the basin can be useful to achieve SDG target 6.1 of achieving safe drinking water supplies well before 2030, which might also be significant for other countries.
Landfills are sources of groundwater and soil pollution due to the production of leachate and its migration through refuse. This study was conducted in order to determine the extent of groundwater and soil pollution within and around the landfill of Seri Petaling located in the State of Selangor, Malaysia. The condition of nearby surface water was also determined. An electrical resistivity imaging survey was used to investigate the leachate production within the landfill. Groundwater geochemistry was carried out and chemical analysis of water samples was conducted upstream and downstream of the landfill. Surface water was also analyzed in order to determine its quality. Soil chemical analysis was performed on soil samples taken from different locations within and around the landfill in the vadose zone (unsaturated zone) and below the water table (in the soil saturated zone). The resistivity image along line L-L1 indicated the presence of large zones of decomposed waste bodies saturated with highly conducting leachate. Analysis of trace elements indicated their presence in very low concentrations and did not reflect any sign of heavy metal pollution of ground and surface water or of soil. Major ions represented by Na, K, and Cl were found in anomalous concentrations in the groundwater of the downstream bore hole, where they are 99.1%, 99.2%, and 99.4%, respectively, higher compared to the upstream bore hole. Electrical conductivity (EC) was also found in anomalous concentration downstream. Ca and Mg ions represent the water hardness (which is comparatively high downstream). There is a general trend of pollution towards the downstream area. Sulfates (SO4) and nitrates (NO3) are found in the area in low concentrations, even below the WHO standards for drinking water, but are significantly higher in the surface water compared to the groundwater. Phosphate (PO4) and nitrite (NO2), although present in low levels, are significantly higher at the downstream. There is no significant difference in the amount of fluoride (F) in the different locations. In the soil vadose zone, heavy metals were found to be in their typical normal ranges and within the background concentrations. Soil exchangeable bases were significantly higher in the soil saturated zone compared to the vadose zone, and no significant difference was obtained in the levels of inorganic pollutants. With the exception of Cd, the concentration ranges of all trace elements (Cu, Zn, Cr, Pb, and Ni) of Seri Petaling landfill soils were below the upper limits of baseline concentrations published from different sources.
Seagrass is a valuable marine ecosystem engineer. However, seagrass population is declining worldwide. The lack of seagrass research in Malaysia raises questions about the status of seagrasses in the country. The seagrasses in Lawas, which is part of the coral-mangrove-seagrass complex, have never been studied in detail. In this study, we examine whether monthly changes of seagrass population in Lawas occurred. Data on estimates of seagrass percentage cover and water physicochemical parameters (pH, turbidity, salinity, temperature, and dissolved oxygen) were measured at 84 sampling stations established within the study area from June 2009 to May 2010. Meteorological data such as total rainfall, air temperature, and Southern Oscillation Index were also investigated. Our results showed that (i) the monthly changes of seagrass percentage cover are significant, (ii) the changes correlated significantly with turbidity measurements, and (iii) weather changes affected the seagrass populations. Our study indicates seagrass percentage increased during the El-Nino period. These results suggest that natural disturbances such as weather changes affect seagrass populations. Evaluation of land usage and measurements of other water physicochemical parameters (such as heavy metal, pesticides, and nutrients) should be considered to assess the health of seagrass ecosystem at the study area.
The performance of local plants was tested using synthetic turbid water resembling real wastewater by measuring their ability to remove turbidity. The selected plants were A. indica, S. palustris, D. linearis, S. polyanthum, M. esculenta, P. sarmentosum, and M. malabathricum which can easily be found locally. The experiment was run based on coagulant dosages varied from 0 to 10 g/L for each plant with a rapid mixing speed at 180 rpm for 3 min, slow mixing speed at 10 rpm for 20 min, and settling time for 30 min. The results demonstrated that each plant has been capable of reducing turbidity by different amounts, with an increase in the coagulant dosage. The optimum coagulant dosages achieved for A. indica, S. palustris, S. polyanthum, and D. linearis were 10 g/L with turbidity removal at 26.9%, 24.9%, 24.9%, and 17.5%, respectively. P. sarmentosum and M. esculenta attained optimum coagulant dosages at 5 g/L with turbidity removal at 24.2% and 22.2%, and lastly M. malabathricum at 0.1 g/L (12.2%). P. sarmentosum was suggested to the best natural coagulant which achieved the highest removal of turbidity with a low dosage used.
In this study, a potentiometric sensor composed of palm shell activated carbon modified with trioctylmethylammonium thiosalicylate (TOMATS) was used for the potentiometric determination of mercury ions in water samples. The proposed potentiometric sensor has good operating characteristics towards Hg (II), including a relatively high selectivity; a Nernstian response to Hg (II) ions in a concentration range of 1.0 × 10(-9) to 1.0 × 10(-2) M, with a detection limit of 1 × 10(-10) M and a slope of 44.08 ± 1.0 mV/decade; and a fast response time (~5 s). No significant changes in electrode potential were observed when the pH was varied over the range of 3-9. Additionally, the proposed electrode was characterized by good selectivity towards Hg (II) and no significant interferences from other cationic or anionic species.
Understanding the relationship between microbial community and mechanism of aerobic granulation could enable wider applications of granules for high-strength wastewater treatment. The majority of granulation studies principally determine the engineering aspects of granules formation with little emphasis on the microbial diversity. In this study, three identical reactors namely R1, R2 and R3 were operated using POME at volumetric loadings of 1.5, 2.5 and 3.5 kg COD m(-3) d(-1), respectively. Aeration was provided at a volumetric flow rate of 2.5 cms(-1). Aerobic granules were successfully developed in R2 and R3 while bioflocs dominated R1 until the end of experiments. Fractal dimension (D(f)) averaged at 1.90 suggesting good compactness of granules. The PCR-DGGE results indicated microbial evolutionary shift throughout granulation despite different operating OLRs based on decreased Raup and Crick similarity indices upon mature granule formation. The characteristics of aerobic granules treating high strength agro-based wastewater are determined at different volumetric loadings.
Mango is a highly perishable seasonal fruit and large quantities are wasted during the peak season as a result of poor postharvest handling procedures. Processing surplus mango fruits into flour to be used as a functional ingredient appears to be a good preservation method to ensure its extended consumption.
The production of beta-mannanase from palm kernel cake (PKC) as a substrate in solid substrate fermentation (SSF) was studied using a laboratory column bioreactor. The simultaneous effects of three independent variables, namely incubation temperature, initial moisture content of substrate and airflow rate, on beta-mannanase production were evaluated by response surface methodology (RSM) on the basis of a central composite face-centered (CCF) design. Eighteen trials were conducted in which Aspergillus niger FTCC 5003 was cultivated on PKC in an aerated column bioreactor for seven days under SSF process. The highest level of beta-mannanase (2117.89 U/g) was obtained when SSF process was performed at incubation temperature, initial moisture level and aeration rate of 32.5 degrees C, 60% and 0.5 l/min, respectively. Statistical analysis revealed that the quadratic terms of incubation temperature and initial moisture content had significant effects on the production of beta-mannanase (P < 0.01). A similar analysis also demonstrated that the linear effect of initial moisture level and an interaction effect between the initial moisture content and aeration rate significantly influenced the production of beta-mannanase (P < 0.01). The statistical model suggested that the optimal conditions for attaining the highest level of beta-mannanase were incubation temperature of 32 degrees C, initial moisture level of 59% and aeration rate of 0.5 l/min. A beta-mannanase yield of 2231.26 U/g was obtained when SSF process was carried out under the optimal conditions described above.
Microplastics (MPs) are a pervasive pollutant in the marine environment. Pantai Teluk Likas in Sabah, Malaysia is one of the most visited beaches where tourism, recreational, and fisheries activities are high in this area. Hence, the area suffers from severe pollution, particularly from plastics. This study aims to quantify the microplastic composition in terms of color, shapes, and polymer types in marine bivalves (Anadara granosa, Glauconome virens, and Meretrix lyrata) and water column samples from Pantai Teluk Likas. All samples were digested using sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and incubated in the oven for at least 48 h. Serial filtration was done for each sample before they were observed under the dissecting microscope. The microplastics were identified and counted based on their physical attributes which were colors and shapes. The functional group of the polymers was determined using FTIR spectroscopy. Microplastics were found present in all samples collected. G. virens had the highest abundance of microplastics at 113.6 ± 6.5 particles/g followed by M. lyrata at 78.4 ± 3.7 particles/g. On the contrary, A. granosa had the least microplastics with an abundance of 24.4 ± 0.6 particles/g. Meanwhile, 110.0 ± 36.2 particles/L of microplastics were found in water column samples from Pantai Teluk Likas. Based on the analysis, fibers were the most common shape in bivalves, while fibers and films were common in the water column. In terms of colors, black, blue, and red were a few of the most abundant colors observed in both samples. The most common polymer detected in all bivalve species and water column samples is polycarbonate (PC), followed by polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). Future study that focuses on the correlation between microplastic abundance in the marine biota and the water column is recommended to better understand microplastic availability and exposure.