Determination of Trace Elements in Sediments Samples by Using Neutron Activation Analysis

Abstract

The Juru River is a highly industrialized, urbanized, and agricultural catchment. This study aimed to investigate trace elements in Juru mangrove sediments, including geochemical baselines and enrichment. Sediment was collected from the mangrove in Juru, Penang, Malaysia. A total of eight target elements was examined.  Instrumentation activation analysis (INAA) was used to determine the concentration of Fe, V, Cr, Zn and Co. Atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) was used to determine the concentration of elements that not detectable by INAA (Cd, Pb, and As). In both methods, validated reference material studies were used for validation of the methodology. Metal pollution was estimated using the Enrichment Factor (EF), Geoaccumulation Index (Igeo), Contamination Factor (CF), and Pollutant Load Index (PLI). The EF, Igeo, and CF ranges from 0.45–7.96, -2.18 – 1.95, and 0.33–5.83 respectively. The order of accumulation of the elemental concentration found was Fe > Zn> Cr > V > Pb > As > Co >Cd. The computed mean value of PLI exceeds the unit (PLI > 1).