Ecological-Health Risk Assessments of Heavy Metals (Cu, Pb, and Zn) in Aquatic Sediments from the ASEAN-5 Emerging Developing Countries: A Review and Synthesis

Abstract

The ASEAN-5 countries (Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, and Vietnam) of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as a group is an ever-increasing major economy developmental hub in Asia besides having wealthy natural resources. However, heavy metal (HM) pollution in the region is of increasing environmental and public concern. This study aimed to review and compile the concentrations of Cu, Pb, and Zn in the aquatic sediments of the ASEAN-5 countries published in the literature from 1981 to February 2021. The mean values of Cu, Pb, and Zn in aquatic sediments were elevated and localized in high human activity sites and compared to the earth’s upper continental crust and reference values. Based on 176 reports from 113 publications, the ranges of concentrations (mg/kg dry weight) were 0.09–3080 for Cu, 0.37–4950 for Zn, and 0.07–2666 for Pb. The ecological risk (ER) values ranged from 0.02–1077 for Cu, 0.01–95.2 for Zn, and 0.02–784 for Pb. All reports (100%) showed the Zn ER values were categorized as being between ‘low potential ecological risk’ and ‘considerable potential ecological risk’. Almost all Cu ER values (97.7%) also showed similar ranges of the above two risk categories except for a few reports. The highest Cu level (3080 mg/kg dry weight) was reported from a mine-tailing spill in Marinduque Island of the Philippines with ‘very high ecological risk’. In addition, drainage sediments in the western part of Peninsular Malaysia were categorized as Cu ’high potential ecological risk’. Almost all reports (96%) showed Pb ER values categorized as between ‘low potential ecological risk’ and ‘moderate potential ecological risk’ except for a few reports. Six reports showed Pb ER values of ‘considerable potential ecological risk’, while one report from Semarang (Indonesia) showed Pb ER of ‘very high ecological risk’ (Pb level of 2666 mg/kg dry weight). For the ingestion and dermal contact pathways for sediments from the ASEAN-5 countries, all non-carcinogenic risk (NCR) values (HI values 1.0) for Cu, Pb, and Zn reflected no NCR. The ER and human health risk assessment of Cu, Pb, and Zn were compared in an integrative and accurate manner after we reassessed the HM data mentioned in the literature. The synthesis carried out in this review provided the basis for us to consider Cu, Pb, and Zn as being of localized elevated levels. This provided evidence for the ASEAN-5 group of countries to be considered as being a new socio-economic corridor. Beyond any reasonable doubt, an ever-increasing anthropogenic input of HMs is to be expected to a certain degree. We believe that this paper provides the most fundamental useful baseline data for the future management and sustainable development of the aquatic ecosystems in the region. Lastly, we claim that this review is currently the most up-to-date review on this topic in the literature.

Bioaccumulation of Metals in Mangrove Snail (Cerithidea obtusa) from Southwest Johor, Malaysia

“…Each location's surface sediments, shells, and soft tissues were ground into a powder using mortal and pastel, sifted through a stainless steel aperture measuring 63 µm, and heated at 80°C for at least 72 hours to a constant dry weight. Prior to being placed in plastic pillboxes, the mixture was rapidly mixed [1,15].…”

“…The majority of research conducted in Malaysia focuses on the levels of potentially harmful metals such as Zn, Cu, Ni, Mn, Cr, Cd, Pb, and As in sediment or the muscle tissue of bivalves captured in mangrove swamp habitats [13][14][15][16]. Only a small number of researchers have studied the content of macro elements such Ca, Mg, Na, K, and Fe in sediments or the muscle of bivalves [17,18].…”

Environmental and human health implications of metal(loid)s: Source identification, contamination, toxicity, and sustainable clean-up technologies

“…are serious issues that need to be addressed (Alengebawy et al, 2021;Sarker et al, 2022). Various global policies are also important to address these issues with the respect to developing and developed countries and the presence of various technologies (Yap and Al-Mutairi, 2022). Various recent reports have been explaining the ecotoxicology of metal(loid)s, their source, transport, and health-environmental risks (Parker et al, 2022).…”

Impact of Metallic Nanoparticles on the Nutritional Values of Spirulina

“…Most of the heavy metal accumulations are due to anthropogenic effects as the main contributors (Dubey 2021). Heavy metals are transported through water bodies like rivers and estuaries which act as a sink for these toxic matters to accumulate and influence the heavy metals accumulation in a particular area (Yap and Al-Mutairi 2021). The heavy metals flowing from upstream of rivers into the ocean accumulate in a huge amounts together before releasing into the ocean.…”