Triclopyr 3, 5, 6-trichloro-2-pyridinyl clean-up procedure from soil, sediment and water samples using SPE-HPLC-VWD

Triclopyr is a post emergence herbicide used to control woody plants. After application, the excess amount will enter the soil and water bodies and it is present in ppb level thus making extraction very difficult. The extraction of triclopyr 3, 5, 6-trichloro-2-pyridinyl residue from soil, sediment and water samples under different solid phase extraction (SPE) sorbent efficiency was studied for better recovery. Four different SPE sorbents i.e.: Oasis HLB, Water Sep-Pak, Cromabond (cation/anion PS-H+ /OH-), Isolute ENV+ and a series of solvent i.e. potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KH2PO4 0.1M), sodium hydroxide (NaOH 0.2M), potassium hydroxide (KOH 0.5 & 0.6M), ammonium acetate, methanol and water were used as extraction solution. Sample clean-up performance was evaluated using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC, Agilent 1220 infinity LC) with variable wavelength detector (VWD) 290 nm. Cromabond®H+/OHcolumn with 0.6 M KOH was the most suitable for the clean-up in view of the overall feasibility of the analysis. The highest recovery was 89.32%

Sikap penggunaan RMP secara selamat dalam kalangan petani Taman Kekal Pengeluaran Makanan (TKPM) di Negeri Selangor

Sikap penggunaan racun makhluk perosak (RMP) secara selamat oleh petani memainkan peranan penting dalam tingkah laku penggunaan RMP secara selamat di ladang, namun hanya sedikit diketahui tentang pemboleh ubah ini. Kajian ini mengkaji sikap terhadap penggunaan RMP secara selamat dalam kalangan petani (n= 350) TKPM, Selangor. Majoriti petani (96.0%) menggunakan RMP di ladang mereka. Pada skala 1 hingga 4, skor sikap ialah 2.73 ± 0.83, dan ini menunjukkan tahap sikap yang sederhana. Hasil analisis juga menunjukkan bahawa bagi kesemua peraturan keselamatan penggunaan RMP yang dikaji terdapat sebilangan responden yang bersikap negatif terhadap peraturan tersebut. Keadaan ini sepatutnya perlu diperbaiki kerana banyak hasil kajian telah membuktikan bahawa sikap mempengaruhi tingkah laku sebenar yang akan dilakukan. Oleh itu ,amat penting sikap petani terhadap penggunaan RMP secara selamat ini perlu dipertingkatkan atau dalam erti kata lain perlu mengubah sikap yang negatif menjadi positif. Walau bagaimanapun, majoriti atau 86.4 peratus daripada responden bersikap positif terhadap peraturan keselamatan penggunaan RMP yang diukur ini. Penemuan ini menunjukkan bahawa kebanyakan petani berasa bertanggungjawab untuk memastikan keselamatan diri mereka, orang lain dan juga alam sekitar. Dengan sikap yang sebegini, menunjukkan masih ada ruang yang mencukupi untuk penambahbaikan terhadap pembangunan strategi kesihatan yang berkesan bagi meningkatkan tingkah laku penggunaan RMP yang selamat. Oleh itu, pihak berkuasa harus meluangkan masa untuk mempromosikan budaya kerja yang selamat dalam kalangan petani melalui sokongan dan bimbingan,latihan kesihatan atau latihan semula dan perundangan

Regional GHS implementation strategy for ASEAN

It is essential for the safe use of chemicals to classify them according to their hazards. Different degrees of hazard must be identified based on specific cut-off values. After chemicals have been classified, they should be labelled accordingly and this hazard information must be sufficiently communicated to the chemical transporters, storekeepers, distributors, users and regulatory authorities. At the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in 1992 in Brazil, the establishment of a globally harmonized hazard classification and compatible labelling system (GHS) was adopted. A study was conducted to assess GHS capacity at the ASEAN regional level, and an implementation strategy has been developed. Two strategies are proposed, namely a sectoral strategy that focuses on four thematic sectors - industrial workplace, agriculture, transport and consumer products respectively; and a cross-sectoral strategy for GHS implementation in ASEAN

Chemicals industry’s initiatives for corporate social responsibility: some perspectives from academia

Chemicals industry is likely to become increasingly relevant in Malaysia. The government is playing its active role in regulating and enforcing legislation to monitor the activities throughout the chemical lifecycle. Chemicals industry itself is also ought to manage the risks associated with their activities through a holistic risk management framework. With the implementation of global regulations and policies, it is able to increase the competitiveness of chemicals industry in the global market and enhance protection of human health and the environment. Today’s chemicals industry should not merely focus on maximize their profit and meeting the needs of shareholders, focus should also be devoted to their social and environmental performances and meeting the needs of other key stakeholders including the community, customers, suppliers, and employees. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) thus has become a concern for chemicals industry. Various CSR emblematic initiatives, namely Responsible Care (RC), Product Stewardship (PS) and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) have been carrying out within chemicals industry. The implementation of such initiatives has become a way for chemical companies to advance social progress while also making a profit, and ultimately becomes a way for many businesses to sustain over the long-term

Students’ behaviour in recycling used batteries for pollution prevention: a case study in Malaysia

The best way to manage used batteries without causing adverse effects to the environment is through recycling. The objective of this study to identify relations and factors which encourage the recycling of used batteries by understanding the behaviour and awareness among the students using Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). School students in Bangi, Malaysia were selected as case study. A total of 349 respondents from 4 schools located in Bangi (namely SMK Bandar Baru Bangi, SMK Jalan Tiga, SMK Jalan Empat and SMK Dato’ Abu Bakar Baginda) had been chosen using cluster sampling method. The study shows that there are a few significant positive relations, which include infrastructure and behavioural control (r = 0.359); responsibility and behavioural control (r = 0.395); attitude and intention (r = 0.182); willingness to pay and behaviour (r = 0.332). By using regression analysis, the social norm factor is the main factor which encourages recycling of used batteries among respondents based on the TPB theory, and followed by the factors of willingness to pay, attitude and behavioural control

Chemical safety in school laboratories located in urban and rural areas: a case study in Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

School laboratory is one of the important facilities in enhancing teaching and learning particularly for science related subjects. Once students learned about science theories in the classroom, they can apply what they have learned by setting up relevant experiment in the school laboratories. However, potential risks occur in the laboratories, especially when dealing with chemicals. As this is unavoidable, hence, safety measures such as good ventilation system, personal protective equipment, emergency response plans are in place to safeguard the users and the environment. Nonetheless, existing safety measures in schools might vary among each other. A project was embarked to investigate if there have differences between secondary schools located in urban and rural areas, particularly on existing safety measures in laboratories, practices and awareness of students. This paper presents the preliminary findings of three aspects in chemical safety: level of knowledge, level of practices and level of perspective among the students in urban and rural areas in Pahang. The findings indicated that there were no differences between the levels of students’ knowledge, practices and perspective of chemical safety in school laboratories. Majority of the students had average level of knowledge and practices of chemical safety. The study also revealed that they not so sure about the safety aspects in school laboratory. The findings from this study provide basic information for teaching and learning to enhance the knowledge and practice of chemical safety in school laboratories by taking considerations from students’ perspective

Managing dengue disaster: uncovering paramount community elements for DNA sensory tool accessibility in Malaysia

In this study, communities’ psychosocial judgements (relationship, awareness, responsibility, and attitude) were evaluated in relation to DNA-based dengue kit accessibility. It was carried out by handing out 100 structured questionnaires (Kajang Housing (KjH): 40, Kajang Industrial (KjI): 40, Kuala Selangor (KuS): 20). From our descriptive analyses, KuS respondents exhibited a closer relationship with their neighbours (100%) compared to other respondents. KjH, KjI and KuS respondents know very little about dengue vector species. While KjH is leading the other two study areas, KjI and KuS in terms of knowing all symptoms associated with dengue fever (DF), KuS shows more interest to participate in dengue campaigns and/or prevention and control programs compared to KjH and KjI. Not more than 25% of total respondents are willing to offer transportation or nurturing their neighbours back to health. While KjI is more confident to use DNA biosensor when outside of their community, not more than 35% of total respondents are confident enough to use it within their neighbourhood. All communities, especially the affected ones, should take a proactive step by making use of DNA biosensor as an early warning tool, in conjunction with good psychosocial behaviours towards dengue, to achieve sustainable health promotion in managing dengue disaster

Achieving sustainable coastal environment in Langkawi, Malaysia

Despite many good policies and institutions, the coastal environment of Langkawi continues to deteriorate. This could be due to lack of effective governance as well as unregulated waste discharge. Evidences collected from the literature during 1996 to 2013 also revealed a significant increase in the concentrations of Zn (R2 = 0.78) and Pb (R2 = 0.12) in the sediment. This appears to be the result of large volume of terrestrial runoff that brings these metals originating from extensive anthropogenic activities. It is a vital indicator of coastal pollution. It is a matter of concern that in many cases Pb concentration in the sediment exceeded the world average value 20 µg/g as well as Canadian Interim Sediment Quality Standard of 35 µg/g for the coastal areas. Similarly, the metal pollution index (MPI) measured over a period of 2007 to 2009 in fish also indicated an increasing trend of pollution in Langkawi. The maximum MPI value (4.87) was recorded in Spanish mackerel. Since pollution of coastal environment has serious implications for marine biodiversity and health of seafood consumers, measures are required to address this problem. Use of constructed wetland might be effective in reducing the coastal pollution as this will filter the effluent and waste before their mixing with the coastal water. Furthermore, enabling the stakeholders to play the environmental stewardship role will ensure better governance of coastal ecosystem and effective implementation of policies, envisaging an improved monitoring of waste/effluent discharge into the coastal marine environment. These measures are among the actions necessary for achieving a sustainable coastal environment of Langkawi

A quinoline-based fluorescent labelling for zinc detection and DFT calculations

8-carboxamidoquinoline derivatives were gradually investigated as zinc’s label in resolving weak water solubility, poor membrane permeability, and difficulty measuring free Zn2+ ion in cells quantitatively. The potential of 2-oxo-2-(quinolin-8-ylamino)acid (OQAA) as zinc’s label was prepared and characterized spectroscopically. Theoretical and experimental data of OQAA were compared and discussed. The optimized molecular structure, molecular orbital of HOMO-LUMO, energy band gaps, and molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) of OQAA were carried out using the DFT method with Becke-3-Parameter-Lee-Yang-Parr (B3LYP) and 6-31G(d,p) basis set. The intermolecular interaction energy of OQAA-Zn is calculated by using the hybrid method of GEN with a basis set of LANL2DZ for Zn2+ ion and DFT/6-31G(d,p) for OQAA ligand. OQAA exhibited remarkable and excellent fluorescence enhancement selective and qualitatively only for Zn2+ than other metal cations tested (Fe2+, Cu2+, Co2+, Ni2+, Hg2+, Cd2+) under a long wavelength. Job’s plot and 1H NMR titrations indicate OQAA-Zn2+ has a binding ratio at 1:1 stoichiometry (M1L1). Substantial shifting of amide N-H proton to higher chemical shift and intensity of the proton peak of N-H amide decrease abruptly implies that Zn2+ is binding to an amide. These changes confirmed interactions among the ligand OQAA and metal Zn2+ ion. As a result of the benefits discussed, OQAA could effectively and selectively optimize and fabricate for Zn2+ sensors