Storage and dynamics of soil organic carbon in allochthonous-dominated and nitrogen-limited natural and planted mangrove forests in southern Thailand.

Mangrove forests can help to mitigate climate change by storing a significant amount of carbon (C) in soils. Planted mangrove forests have been established to combat anthropogenic threats posed by climate change. However, the efficiency of planted forests in terms of soil organic carbon (SOC) storage and dynamics relative to that of natural forests is unclear. We assessed SOC and nutrient storage, SOC sources and drivers in a natural and a planted forest in southern Thailand. Although the planted forest stored more C and nutrients than the natural forest, the early-stage planted forest was not a strong sink relative to mudflat. Both forests were predominated by allochthonous organic C and nitrogen limited, with total nitrogen being a major driver of SOC in both cases. SOC showed a significant decline along land-to-sea and depth gradients as a result of soil texture, nutrient availability, and pH in the natural forest.

Distribution and assessment of heavy metal in sediments of Malacca Strait.

In this study, we explored the heavy metal elements in 42 surface sediments from the Malacca Strait in terms of distribution, controlling factors, environmental quality, and primary sources. An analysis of grain size revealed finer sediments near the coast of Malaysia, which gradually thickened toward offshore. In addition, heavy metal elements were abundantly distributed near the coastal area of Malaysia, with a gradual decrease toward the sea; their content increased within waters close to the Perak estuary. Source analysis of heavy metals showed that Cr, Hg, Zn, Cd, and Cu were mostly derived from natural weathering, and their distribution was significantly influenced by sediment grain size. As and Pb were affected by human activities. The environmental quality assessment results showed that Cu, Cr, Cd, and Zn in our study regions were pollution-free. Pb elements showed low-to-moderate pollution, and Hg showed a certain degree of ecological risk due to its high toxicity coefficient. The content of As elements in surface sediments increased significantly when compared to the background value, with several evaluation methods indicating a high-risk index. According to these findings, the area near the mouth of the Perak River is the most polluted, followed by the surrounding coastal areas.

Natural radionuclide of Po²¹° in the edible seafood affected by coal-fired power plant industry in Kapar coastal area of Malaysia.

BACKGROUND: Po²¹° can be accumulated in various environmental materials, including marine organisms, and contributes to the dose of natural radiation in seafood. The concentration of this radionuclide in the marine environment can be influenced by the operation of a coal burning power plant but existing studies regarding this issue are not well documented. Therefore, the aim of this study was to estimate the Po²¹° concentration level in marine organisms from the coastal area of Kapar, Malaysia which is very near to a coal burning power plant station and to assess its impact on seafood consumers. METHODS: Concentration of Po²¹° was determined in the edible muscle of seafood and water from the coastal area of Kapar, Malaysia using radiochemical separation and the Alpha Spectrometry technique. RESULTS: The activities of Po²¹° in the dissolved phase of water samples ranged between 0.51 ± 0.21 and 0.71 ± 0.24 mBql⁻¹ whereas the particulate phase registered a range of 50.34 ± 11.40 to 72.07 ± 21.20 Bqkg⁻¹. The ranges of Po²¹° activities in the organism samples were 4.4 ± 0.12 to 6.4 ± 0.95 Bqkg⁻¹ dry wt in fish (Arius maculatus), 45.7 ± 0.86 to 54.4 ± 1.58 Bqkg⁻¹ dry wt in shrimp (Penaeus merguiensis) and 104.3 ± 3.44 to 293.8 ± 10.04 Bqkg⁻¹ dry wt in cockle (Anadara granosa). The variation of Po²¹° in organisms is dependent on the mode of their life style, ambient water concentration and seasonal changes. The concentration factors calculated for fish and molluscs were higher than the recommended values by the IAEA. An assessment of daily intake and received dose due to the consumption of seafood was also carried out and found to be 2083.85 mBqday⁻¹person⁻¹ and 249.30 µSvyr⁻¹ respectively. These values are comparatively higher than reported values in other countries. Moreover, the transformation of Po²¹° in the human body was calculated and revealed that a considerable amount of Po²¹° can be absorbed in the internal organs. The calculated values of life time mortality and morbidity cancer risks were 24.8 × 10⁻4 and 34 × 10⁻4 respectively which also exceeded the recommended limits set by the ICRP. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this present study can be used to evaluate the safety dose uptake level of seafood as well as to monitor environmental health. However, as the calculated dose and cancer risks were found to cross the limit of safety, finding a realistic way to moderate the risk is imperative.

Distribution and assessment of heavy metal contents in surface sediments of the western Sunda Shelf.

The heavy metal contents (Cr, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb, Hg, and As) of 88 surface sediment samples from the western Sunda Shelf were analyzed to determine their spatial distribution patterns and contamination status. The results demonstrated that high enrichment regions of heavy metals were focused in the Kelantan, Pahang, and Ambat river estuaries, and deep water regions of the study area. These high enrichment regions were mainly controlled by riverine inputs and their hydrodynamic conditions. The enrichment factor (EF), geoaccumulation index (Igeo), and potential ecological risk index (PERI) were used to assess heavy metal accumulation. The results indicated that the study area was not significantly contaminated overall at the time of the study; however, Cd, As, and Hg were at levels corresponding to moderate contamination at many stations located in the Pahang River estuary, Kelantan River estuary, and north-eastern region of the study area, primarily because of anthropogenic activities.

Characterization of alkanes, hopanes, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in tar-balls collected from the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

The East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia faces the South China Sea and is vulnerable to oil pollution because of intense petroleum production activities in the area. The South China Sea is also a favored route for supertankers carrying crude oil to the Far East. Consequently, oil spills can occur, causing pollution and contamination in the surrounding areas. Residual oil spills stranded on coastal beaches usually end up as tar-balls. Elucidating the sources of tar-balls using a molecular marker approach is essential in assessing environmental impacts and perhaps settling legal liabilities for affected parties. This study utilizes a multimodal molecular marker approach through the use of diagnostic ratios of alkanes, hopanes, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) to determine the source, distribution and weathering of tar-balls. Hopane ratios (e.g., C29/C30, and summation C31-C35/C30 ratios) were used to identify the sources of tar-balls. The weathering effects were distinguished by using alkanes, namely the unresolved complex mixture (UCM) and low molecular weight/high molecular weight (L/H) ratios. Similarly, PAHs were also used for the determination of weathering processes undergone by the tar-balls. This multimodal molecular marker gave a very strong indication of the sources of tar-balls in this study. For example, 16 out of 17 samples originated from South East Asian Crude Oil (SEACO) with one sample from Merang, Terengganu originating from North Sea Oil (Troll). The TRME-2 sample may have come from a supertanker's ballast water discharge. The second possibility is that the tar-ball may have been transported via oceanographic currents. All 'weathered' sample characterizations were based on the presence of UCM and other ratios. The multimodal molecular marker approach applied in this study has enabled us to partially understand the transport behavior of tar-balls in the marine environment and has revealed insights into the weathering process of tar-balls.

Health Risk of Polonium 210 Ingestion via Drinking Water: An Experience of Malaysia.

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.

Impact of northern and southern air mass transport on the temporal distribution of atmospheric (210)Po and (210)Pb in the east coast of Johor, Malaysia.

Concentration activities of (210)Pb and (210)Po in the PM10 were determined to discuss their distribution and chemical behavior in relation to meteorological parameters especially in air mass transport during monsoon events. Marine aerosol samples were collected between January 2009 and December 2010 at the coastal region of Mersing, which is located in the southern South China Sea and is about 160 km northeast of Johor Bahru, as part of the atmosphere-ocean interaction program in Malaysia. About 47 PM10 samples were collected using the Sierra-Andersen model 1200 PM10 sampler over a 2-year sampling campaign between January 2009 and December 2010. Samples were processed using acid digestion sequential extraction techniques to analyze various fractions such as Fe and Mn oxides, organic matter, and residual fractions. While, (210)Pb and (210)Po activities were measured with the Gross Alpha/Beta Counting System model XLB-5 Tennelec® Series 5 and the Alpha Spectrometry (model Alpha Analyst Spectroscopy system with a silicon-surface barrier detector), respectively. The distribution activities of (210)Pb and (210)Po in the PM10 samples were varied from 162 to 881 µBq/m(3) with mean value of 347 ± 170 µBq/m(3) and from 85 to 1009 µBq/m(3) with mean value of 318 ± 202 µBq/m(3), respectively. The analysis showed that (210)Po activity in our samples lies in a border and higher range than global distribution values due to contributions from external sources injected to the atmosphere. The speciation of (210)Pb and (210)Po in marine aerosol corresponds to transboundary haze; e.g., biomass burning especially forest fires and long-range air mass transport of terrestrial dust has enriched concentrations of particle mass in the local atmosphere. The monsoon seems to play an important role in transporting terrestrial dust from Indo-China and northern Asia especially during the northeast monsoon, as well as biogenic pollutants originating from Sumatra and the southern ASEAN region during southwest monsoon events.

Activities of 210Po and 210Pb in the water column at Kuala Selangor, Malaysia.

Natural radionuclides, such as (210)Po and (210)Pb were measured in the water samples collected from six stations at Kuala Selangor, Malaysia. Results for (210)Po and (210)Pb in dissolved and particulate phases have showed the difference in distribution and chemical behavior. The fluctuation activities of (210)Po and (210)Pb depend on wave action, geology and degree of fresh water input occurring at study areas and probably due to different sampling dates. The distribution coefficient, K(d), values of (210)Po and (210)Pb ranged from 2.0 x 10(3)lg(-1) to 265.15 x 10(5)lg(-1), and from 3.0 x 10(3)lg(-1) to 558.16 x 10(5)lg(-1), respectively. High K(d) values of (210)Po and (210)Pb indicated that a strong adsorption of (210)Po and (210)Pb onto suspended particles, and the sinking of both nuclides on the seabed at study locations were controlled by the characteristics of suspended particles.

Surfactants in the sea-surface microlayer and their contribution to atmospheric aerosols around coastal areas of the Malaysian peninsula.

A study was done to determine the concentrations of surfactants on the sea-surface microlayer and in atmospheric aerosols in several coastal areas around the Malaysian peninsula. The concentrations of surfactants from the sea-surface microlayer (collected using rotation drum) and from aerosols (collected using HVS) were analyzed as methylene blue active substances and disulphine blue active substances through the colorimetric method using a UV-vis spectrophotometer. The results of this study showed that the average concentrations of surfactants in the sea-surface microlayer ranged between undetected and 0.36+/-0.34 micromol L(-1) for MBAS and between 0.11+/-0.02 and 0.21+/-0.13 micromol L(-1) for DBAS. The contribution of surfactants from the sea-surface microlayer to the composition of surfactants in atmospheric aerosols appears to be very minimal and more dominant in fine mode aerosols.