Malaysian Journal of Analytical Sciences Vol 22 No 5 (2018): 828 - 838

DOI: 10.17576/mjas-2018-2205-10

 

 

 

DETERMINATION OF NATURAL RADIOACTIVITY AND HEAVY METALS AT THE FORMER MINING SITE OF KOLEJ UNIVERSITI ISLAM ANTARABANGSA SELANGOR (KUIS) LAKE

 

(Penentuan Keradioaktifan Tabii dan Logam Berat di Kawasan Bekas Lombong Tasik Kolej Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Selangor (KUIS))

 

Nur Ain Mohd Radzali, Norsyahidah Mohd Hidzir*, Irman Abdul Rahman

 

Nuclear Technology Research Centre, School of Applied Physics,

Faculty of Science and Technology,

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

 

*Corresponding author:  syahidah@ukm.edu.my

 

 

Received: 29 August 2017; Accepted: 15 August 2018

 

 

Abstract

An ex-mining site has created an undesirable effect on the environment, such as the destruction of plants and contamination. Thus, this study was conducted to determine the natural radioactivity and heavy metal presence in the ex-mining site at Kolej University Islam Antarabangsa Selangor (KUIS) lake. Both parameters were measured using gamma spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The results showed that the concentrations of ²³⁸U (0.44 ± 0.31 Bq/L), ²³²Th (0.04 ± 0.02 Bq/L), ²²⁶ Ra (0.19 ± 0.11 Bq/L), and ⁴⁰K (0.62 ± 0.37 Bq/L) in water samples were below the recommended values by the World Health Organization (WHO) for drinking water source, which implied the safe consumption of the water. However, the presence of ²³⁸U, ²³²Th, ²²⁶ Ra, and ⁴⁰K in sediment samples exceeded the limit proposed by UNSCEAR, with the radioactivity of 49.1 ± 18.8 Bq/kg, 102.3 ± 3.3 Bq/kg, 133.2 ± 18.8 Bq/kg, and 297.1 ± 25.7 Bq/kg, respectively. For heavy metal determination, zinc was found in the sediment with the highest concentration (17.34 ± 15.79 mg/kg) compared to other heavy metals, while the concentration of arsenic was highest in water with 0.58 ± 0.26 µg/L. All hazard indices were found to be below the safety limit except for the gamma index of 1.6 ± 0.7 Bq/kg and 104.1 ± 48.4 nGy/h for the gamma dose rate.

 

Keywords:  radioactivity, heavy metals, water, sediment, gamma spectrometry

 

Abstrak

Tapak bekas lombong telah meninggalkan impak yang tidak diingini kepada alam sekitar seperti pemusnahan tanaman dan pencemaran. Oleh itu, kajian ini dijalankan untuk menentukan kehadiran radionuklid tabii dan logam berat di tapak bekas perlombongan di tasik Kolej Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Selangor (KUIS). Kedua-dua parameter ini diukur menggunakan spektrometri gama dan spektometer jisim-gandingan plasma teraruh (ICP-MS). Hasil kajian menunjukkan kepekatan ²³⁸U  (0.44 ± 0.31 Bq/L), ²³²Th (0.04 ± 0.02 Bq/L), ²²⁶Ra (0.19 ± 0.11 Bq/L) dan ⁴⁰K (0.62 ± 0.37 Bq/L) berada di bawah nilai yang disyorkan oleh WHO untuk sumber air minuman, menunjukkan air berada ditahap selamat untuk diminum. Walau bagaimanapun, kehadiran ²³⁸U, ²³²Th, ²²⁶Ra and ⁴⁰K dalam sampel sedimen melebihi had yang dicadangkan oleh UNSCEAR, dengan kepekatan 49.1 ± 18.8 Bq/kg, 102.3 ± 3.3 Bq/kg, 133.2 ± 18.8 Bq/kg dan 297.1 ± 25.7 Bq/kg. Bagi penentuan logam berat, didapati zink menunjukkan kepekatan tertinggi dalam sedimen (17.34 ± 15.79 mg/kg) berbanding dengan logam berat lain, manakala kepekatan arsenik adalah tertinggi dalam air dengan 0.58 ± 0.26 μg/L. Semua indeks bahaya didapati berada di bawah had keselamatan kecuali indeks gamma iaitu 1.6 ± 0.7 Bq/kg dan 104.1 ± 48.4 nGy/h untuk kadar dos gama.

 

Kata kunci:  radioaktiviti, logam berat, air, sedimen, spektrometri gama

 

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