Heavy metals contamination in paddy water and health risk assessment among farmers in Tanjung Karang

Rudzi, Siti Khairunnisaq (2016) Heavy metals contamination in paddy water and health risk assessment among farmers in Tanjung Karang. [Project Paper] (Submitted)

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Abstract

Introduction: Tanjung Karang, Selangor is widely known for its paddy cultivation activity and was the third largest paddy field in Malaysia. The contamination of heavy metals in agriculture fields is commonly related to fertilizers as some fertilizers are known to contain certain heavy metals. Heavy metals do not undergo biodegradation and can accumulate in the environment and human body. Since paddy cultivation needs large amounts of water, this activity is one of the concerns. Objective: To determine the selected concentration heavy metals (Cu, Cr, Zn, Ni, Pb, As and Cd) in paddy water and assess their potential dermal health risks to farmers in Tanjung Karang. Methodology: The study was conducted at Kampung Sawah Sempadan in Tanjung Karang. 72 water samples were randomly collected from 24 paddy blocks consisting block A to X. The water samples were measured for in-situ water quality parameters such as temperature, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), dissolved oxygen (DO) and turbidity. The water samples were acidified with nitric acid and filtered through 0.45 pm membrane before injected into Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). 117 farmers were interviewed using questionnaires to obtain information for non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic dermal health risk assessments. Results and Discussion: As has the highest mean concentration (0.01 mg/L) followed by Zn (0.0084 mg/L), Cr (0.0045 mg/L), Ni (0.0026 mg/L), Cu (0.0024 mg/L), Pb (0.0016 mg/L) and Cd (0.000022 mg/L). All elements did not exceed the recommended concentration by Malaysia National Water Quality Standard (NWQS), Department of Environment and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The average reading for temperature, pH, EC, DO and turbidity were 34.6 ⁰C, 7.7, 260.2 µS/cm, 7.1 mg/L and 63.7 NTU respectively. The Hazard Quotient (HQ) for all selected heavy metals did not exceed 1 and Lifetime Cancer Risks (LCR) were between 1.78 x 10⁻⁶ to 4.06 X10.⁻⁶. Conclusion: This study indicated that the pollution of selected heavy metals in the paddy water at Kampung Sawah Sempadan was minimum and the water is suitable to be used as irrigation water. Keywords: Heavy metals, paddy water, agriculture, in-situ water quality parameters, health risk assessments

Item Type:	Project Paper
Faculty:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Science
Depositing User:	Mr Muhamad Fazril Awang
Date Deposited:	23 Nov 2022 03:48
Last Modified:	23 Nov 2022 03:48
URI:	http://psaspb.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/465

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