Gaseous Elemental Mercury (GEM) in Ambient Air in Malaysia and its Health Risk Assessment

IF 3.8 4区环境科学与生态学 Q2 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Water, Air, & Soil Pollution Pub Date : 2025-02-22 DOI:10.1007/s11270-025-07797-3

Mohd Shahrul Mohd Nadzir, Tan Mei Shin, Alvin Chua, Mohd Zaim Mohd Nor, Muhamad Ikram A. Wahab, Tay Kheng Soo, Mohd Aftar Abu Bakar, Noratiqah Mohd Ariff, Mohd Fadzil Firdzaus Mohd Nor

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Abstract

Mercury (Hg) is a global pollutant that poses significant risks to human health and ecosystems. In its dominant atmospheric form, gaseous elemental mercury (GEM), it can travel long distances, contributing to widespread environmental contamination. This study investigates GEM levels in ambient air across urban, suburban, rural, and industrial areas in Peninsular Malaysia using both in situ and continuous measurement methods. Results show GEM concentrations ranging from a minimum of 4.8 to a maximum of 28.9 ng m⁻3, with the highest levels observed in industrial areas such as Pasir Gudang (28.9 ng m⁻3) and Shah Alam (18.6 ng m⁻3). Health risk assessments (HRA), conducted for different age groups, indicated that GEM concentrations were below the threshold for non-carcinogenic health risks (HQ < 1). These findings highlight the urgent need for long-term monitoring to assess mercury pollution and inform Malaysia’s commitment to the Minamata Convention. The study underscores the importance of continuous GEM monitoring to bridge knowledge gaps in mercury’s spatial and temporal distribution, especially in tropical regions.

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来源期刊

Water, Air, & Soil Pollution 环境科学-环境科学

CiteScore

4.50

自引率

6.90%

发文量

448

审稿时长

2.6 months

期刊介绍： Water, Air, & Soil Pollution is an international, interdisciplinary journal on all aspects of pollution and solutions to pollution in the biosphere. This includes chemical, physical and biological processes affecting flora, fauna, water, air and soil in relation to environmental pollution. Because of its scope, the subject areas are diverse and include all aspects of pollution sources, transport, deposition, accumulation, acid precipitation, atmospheric pollution, metals, aquatic pollution including marine pollution and ground water, waste water, pesticides, soil pollution, sewage, sediment pollution, forestry pollution, effects of pollutants on humans, vegetation, fish, aquatic species, micro-organisms, and animals, environmental and molecular toxicology applied to pollution research, biosensors, global and climate change, ecological implications of pollution and pollution models. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution also publishes manuscripts on novel methods used in the study of environmental pollutants, environmental toxicology, environmental biology, novel environmental engineering related to pollution, biodiversity as influenced by pollution, novel environmental biotechnology as applied to pollution (e.g. bioremediation), environmental modelling and biorestoration of polluted environments. Articles should not be submitted that are of local interest only and do not advance international knowledge in environmental pollution and solutions to pollution. Articles that simply replicate known knowledge or techniques while researching a local pollution problem will normally be rejected without review. Submitted articles must have up-to-date references, employ the correct experimental replication and statistical analysis, where needed and contain a significant contribution to new knowledge. The publishing and editorial team sincerely appreciate your cooperation. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution publishes research papers; review articles; mini-reviews; and book reviews.