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The determination of heavy metals in water, suspended materials and sediments from Langat River, Malaysia

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Sediment/Water Interactions

Part of the book series: Developments in Hydrobiology ((DIHY,volume 50))

Abstract

The distributions of heavy metals in the Langat River were studied for a period of six months between September 1984 and February 1985. Heavy metals such as arsenic, cadmium, cerium, cobalt, chromium, caesium, lanthanum, rubidium, antimony, scandium, thorium and zinc were determined in water, suspended materials and sediment samples from the Langat River by neutron activation and atomic absorption spectrometry. The concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, cerium, cobalt, scandium, antimony, and zinc were generally highest in the suspended materials, whereas the concentrations of chromium, rubidium and thorium were always highest in the sediments: Arsenic concentrations in the river were slightly higher than the natural concentration, while other elements were generally at their natural concentration levels. The use of arsenical herbicides in plantations along the river could be a source of arsenic pollution.

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© 1989 Kluwer Academic Publishers

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Sarmani, S.B. (1989). The determination of heavy metals in water, suspended materials and sediments from Langat River, Malaysia. In: Sly, P.G., Hart, B.T. (eds) Sediment/Water Interactions. Developments in Hydrobiology, vol 50. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2376-8_21

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2376-8_21

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-9007-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-009-2376-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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