Heavy Metal Assessments of Soil Samples from a High Natural Background Radiation Area, Indonesia
Eka Djatnika Nugraha,
June Mellawati,
Wahyudi,
Chutima Kranrod,
Makhsun,
Hirofumi Tazoe,
Haeranah Ahmad,
Masahiro Hosoda,
Naofumi Akata,
Shinji Tokonami
Affiliations
Eka Djatnika Nugraha
Research Centre for Technology of Radiation Safety and Metrology, The National Research and Innovation Agency of Indonesia (OR TN-BRIN), Jakarta 12440, Indonesia
June Mellawati
Research Centre for Technology of Radiation Safety and Metrology, The National Research and Innovation Agency of Indonesia (OR TN-BRIN), Jakarta 12440, Indonesia
Wahyudi
Research Centre for Technology of Radiation Safety and Metrology, The National Research and Innovation Agency of Indonesia (OR TN-BRIN), Jakarta 12440, Indonesia
Chutima Kranrod
Department of International Cooperation and Collaborative Research, Institute of Radiation Emergency Medicine, Hirosaki University, Hirosaki 036-8560, Japan
Makhsun
Research Centre for Technology of Radiation Safety and Metrology, The National Research and Innovation Agency of Indonesia (OR TN-BRIN), Jakarta 12440, Indonesia
Hirofumi Tazoe
Department of International Cooperation and Collaborative Research, Institute of Radiation Emergency Medicine, Hirosaki University, Hirosaki 036-8560, Japan
Haeranah Ahmad
Department of Environmental Health, Health Polytechnic of Mamuju, Mamuju 91511, Indonesia
Masahiro Hosoda
Department of Radiation Science, Graduate School of Health Sciences, Hirosaki University, Hirosaki 036-8560, Japan
Naofumi Akata
Department of Radiochemistry and Radioecology, Institute of Radiation Emergency Medicine, Hirosaki University, Hirosaki 036-8560, Japan
Shinji Tokonami
Department of Radiation Measurement and Physical Dosimetry, Institute of Radiation Emergency Medicine, Hirosaki University, Hirosaki 036-8560, Japan
Mamuju, Indonesia, is an area with high natural background radiation. This study assesses heavy metal content in soil samples from this area to determine the level of public and environmental hazard it presents. This study analyzes natural radionuclide elements using high purity germanium (HPGe) gamma spectrometry and performs heavy metals analysis using a flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). Moreover, pollution indices and descriptive analyses were used to assess heavy metal contamination in the environment and the correlation between heavy metals and radionuclides. The results demonstrate that soil samples in several areas of Mamuju contain a high concentration of the natural radionuclides 226Ra and 232Th, and that heavy metal concentrations in the soil decrease in the sequence Zn > Pb > Cr > Cu > Ni > Cd. This study revealed that soil samples from Mamuju are moderately contaminated. There was a strong positive relationship between 226Ra, 232Th, ambient dose equivalent rate, and Pb. Ecological risk index (RI) and cumulative pollution index (IPI) values in Mamuju are 2.05 and 125, respectively, which are possible hazards to human health as a result. Pb concentration in the Mamuju soil samples ranged from 109 to 744 mg kg−1, exceeding the worldwide average of 27 mg kg−1.
