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Heavy Metals Composition in Dust from Primary School Environment
Mohamad Hafizudin Bin Baharudin
Supervisor: Dr. Noorlin Binti Mohamad
Bachelor of Technology (Environment)
School of Ocean Engineering
Universiti Malaysia Terengganu
Soils or dust are considered regional sinks of chemical emissions and are frequently
rich in heavy metals. This study aims to analyse the chemical properties and
sources of heavy metals in dust collected from school environment. 36 dust
samples were collected using soft paint brush from three primary schools in Kuala
Terengganu. The concentrations of Fe, Zn, Pb, Cu, Mn, Cd and Ni in dust were
determined by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-
OES). Enrichment factor (EF) analysis was performed to identify the sources of
heavy metals from natural or anthropogenic sources. Meanwhile, the health risk
assessment (HRA) was conducted to evaluate the potential health risk of children
from dust exposure. The concentration of heavy metals were different due to
locations, and sources. It can be concluded that, heavy metals contain in soils and
dust will give bad effect to human especially small children due to their pica
behaviour.
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