Estimation of the pesticide exposure during spraying among applicators.

Pesticide exposure used in paddy farming was estimated using whole body dosimetry. The respondents were applicators from Sekinchan, Selangor who participated voluntarily in this study. They were given cotton coveralls to wear before spraying pesticide in the fields. After they had completed their task, the coveralls were collected from pesticide applicators immediately. The coveralls were cut into nine pieces representing parts of the body from shoulder to leg to assess the part of the applicator‘s body that will be exposed the most to pesticide during spraying. Each cutting pieces of the coveralls was extracted using acetone: hexane (1:1) solvent mixture followed by cleanup using C-18 Solid Phase Extraction. The solvent extracts were analyzed for chlorpyrifos using GCMS. The result indicated that different pieces of the coveralls have different concentrations of chlorpyrifos residues. The highest concentration of chlorpyrifos residues was found at the bottom left leg and bottom right leg of the body. Biomonitoring of pesticide exposure was also performed on the same applicators using their urine samples collected four times that is before and within two days after spraying. The result showed that 2,3,6 trichloro 2-pyridinol (TCP), a chlorpyrifos metabolite was detected in the urine samples

Spatial geochemical distribution and sources of heavy metals in the sediment of Langat River, western peninsular Malaysia.

The present study employed geochemical and multivariate analyses to assess the level of heavy metals (As, Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb, and Zn) in sediment along the lower reaches of the Langat River. The sediment samples were digested and analyzed for total metals by an inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Selected physicochemical parameters such as pH, redox potential (Eh), electrical conductivity (EC), salinity, organic matter and cation exchange capacity (CEC) were also determined. The metal concentration from this study area was compared with interim sediment quality guidelines (ISQG). Most sediment samples did not exceed the ISQG. Geo-accumulation index (Igeo) revealed that certain sampling stations were classified as strongly polluted with respect to As and classified as moderately polluted for Pb. Based on the enrichment factor (EF) values, most sampling stations were categorized as ‘very severely enriched to extremely severely enriched for As and only 3% were moderately enriched. For Pb, pH, Eh, and CEC pose considerable influence on the composition of heavy metal in the sediment as confirmed by Pearson correlation. The hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) revealed that sediment in the study area could be divided into two major clusters. Cluster 1 was mainly affected by the agricultural and industrial activities while Cluster 2 was heavily affected by seawater. The forensic investigation via the use of geostatistical and geochemical approaches revealed two pollution sources: (i) man-made (agricultural and industrial activities), and (ii) natural processes (seawater intrusion and geological weathering). The quantification of heavy metal concentrations thus provides a better understanding of the potential ecological risks and contamination status of the sediment. The vulnerable areas identified in this study should be given the highest priority for mitigation measures in order to alleviate pollution from industries and agriculture areas. The incorporation of source apportionment method to further understand the dynamics of environmental processes is recommended for future studies to assist in identifying possible high pollution-risk areas

Developing scales for measuring teachers' acceptance of the environmental education (EE) kit: a pilot study in Malaysian schools

Three indicators were developed to measure the teachers’ acceptability of the EE Kit: perception, attitude and receptiveness. In this study, 81 teachers teaching Science, Geography, English and Malay Language from four public schools in Peninsular Malaysia who received the EE Kit participated. This study aimed to describe and analyze the experience of using the EE Kit for teaching environmental education component in the classroom. This study found that, 75/81 (92.59%) knew about the EE Kit, 64/81 (79.01%) used the EE Kit and 11 (13.58%) who knew about the kit but did not use it. Overall, teachers are in favor of the use of the EE Kit in the classroom and recommend it to be used in all schools in Malaysia. Two important issues were highlighted, that is, the need for teacher training on the use of EE Kit and the use of simple English language to suit the need of rural students

Virtual water trade in industrial products: evidence from Malaysia

Virtual water embodied in international trade is equivalent to nearly one-third of global water withdrawal, confirming that trade plays a significant role in redistributing global water resources. This paper extends a virtual water analysis by measuring the extent to which virtual water embodied in traded industrial products affects the distribution of global virtual water. The distribution of global virtual water can be improved if trade in industrial products promotes virtual water outflows from water-abundant to water-scarce countries. Analyses were performed using an input–output model that can decompose water consumption into domestic demand and exports by destinations of trade. Focusing on Malaysia, the results indicate that trade in industrial products between Malaysia and its main trading partners have a limited capacity to improve the distribution of global virtual water. This limitation can be due to two reasons. Firstly, exports of Malaysian industrial products are mainly driven by less water-intensive sectors. Therefore, the amount of virtual water that outflows into other countries is also low. Secondly, trade in Malaysian industrial products largely involves water flows with other water-abundant countries. Only several water-scarce countries benefit from virtual water trade in industrial products with Malaysia, namely the Netherlands, Australia and China

Chemical risk evaluation : a case study in an automotive air conditioner production facility.

There has been limited knowledge on worker's exposure to chemicals used in the automotive industries. The purpose of this study is to assess chemical risk and to determine the adequacy of the existing control measures to reduce chemical exposure. A cross sectional survey was conducted in a factory involving installation and servicing of automotive air conditioner units. Qualitative exposure assessment was carried out following the Malaysian Chemical Health Risk Assessment Manual (CHRA). There were 180 employees, 156 workers worked in the production line, which constitutes six work units Tube fin pressed, Brazing, Welding, Final assembly, Piping and Kit II. From the chemical risk evaluation for each work unit, 26 chemical compounds were used. Most of the chemicals were irritants (eye and skin) and some were asphyxiants and sensitizers. Based on the work assignment, 93 out of 180 (51.67%) of the workers were exposed to chemicals. The highest numbers of workers exposed to chemicals were from the Brazing section (22.22%) while the Final Assembly section was the lowest (1.67%). Health survey among the workers showed occurrence of eye irritation, skin irritation, and respiratory irritation, symptoms usually associated with chemical exposure. Using a risk rating matrix, several work process were identified as having 'significant risk'. For these areas, the workers are at risk of adverse health effects since chemical exposure is not adequately controlled. This study recommends corrective actions be taken in order to control the level of exposure and to provide a safe work environment for workers

Concerns on the threat of environmental hazards to human and environment in Malaysia: an exploratory analysis

A total of 1224 university students from Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia, were asked to give a quantitative judgment about the threat to human and the environment with possible answers ranging from “no threat at all” (1) to “extreme threat” (7). This study was carried out from December 2007 to February 2008. Results from this study showed that students tend to rank ‘threat ‘as “high” for hazards familiar to them. The mean score for top five hazards were nuclear technology (6.07), global warming (6.04), drugs (5.92), earthquake (5.79), and tsunami (5.78). On the other hand, unfamiliar hazard such as genetic technology (4.74) and handphone (4.41) were perceived as ‘least threatening’. The role of gender, year of study, race, and academic discipline on risk perception were also examined. Results show that gender plays the biggest role in shaping students’ risk opinion. Female students were more concerned about threat of risk than male students. The differences in opinion follow this order: gender > year of study > race > academic discipline

Hair mercury levels in relation to marine fish consumption among adults in Malaysia.

Consumption of carnivorous fish is one of the major sources of human exposure to methyl mercury (MeHg). This study presents the data on fish consumption habits and hair mercury levels taken from 201 adults aged between 17- 72 years from four districts in the Peninsular Malaysia. The means for total mercury (THg) ranged from 0.93 ppm-1.69 ppm. The means for females and males were 1.21 ppm (SD=0.76) and 1.48 ppm (SD=0.89) respectively. The THg level for 59.30% of the study population (26.60% female participants) exceeded the USEPA recommendation of 1 ppm. The average fish consumption was 180.19+11.34g/ day/person with higher fish consumption in both rural coastal areas compared with the urban communities (p=0.0001). Age was positively correlated with THg (rs=0.4588; p=0.0001) followed by the amount of fish eaten (rs=0.4199; p=0.0001), use of whitening cream (rs=0.2410; p=0.006), BMI (rs=0.2034; p=0.0041), location of study (rs=0.1818; p=0.01), and gender (0.1637; p=0.0241). However, we found negative correlation between the numbers of filling with THg (rs=-0.2485; p=0.004)

Potential removal of Pb, Cu and Zn by Phylidrum lanuginosum in aquatic environment.

The use of the aquatic plant Phylidmm lanuginosum for the removal of lead, zinc and copper was studied. Plants were exposed to various concentrations of Pb, Cu and Zn (1,5, 15 and 20 mg/L) and harvested at different time intervals (24, 48, 120, 168 and 240 h). Morphological changes (chlorosis) occurred after 10 days of exposure to 1 mg/L mixed heavy metal solutions. With increasing concentrations, chlorosis occurred after 24 hours at 15 mg/L level. Necrosis (death) occurred after 168 hours in 15 mg/L and 120 hours in 20 mg/L solution. Heavy metals were detected in the roots after 24-h exposure. Pb is readily absorbed compared to Cu and Zn, and the maximum amount was 6.545 ± 0.157 mg/g in 20 mg/L solution and 168-h exposure. The maximum amount of Cu was 1.038 ± 0.008 mg/g harvested in 15 mg/L solution at 120 h while the amount of Zn harvested was 0.996 ± 0.018 mg/g in 1 mg/L solution at 120 h. Phylidrum lanuginosum showed to be a potential bioaccumulator able to hyperaccumulate Pb, Cu and Zn at different rates of accumulation

Organophosphate exposure: a preliminary assessment on the use of pesticide intensity score to evaluate exposure among fruit growers

This study examines the influence of work hours, personal protective equipment use, and pesticide ingestion on the amount of urinary metabolites among fruit growers applying organophosphate pesticide. Thirty nine urine samples were collected from seven applicators before and after organophosphate applications. All dimethyl metabolites were present in day 1 morning urine samples for all workers. The arithmetic means for day 1 ranged from 21.5-94.17 µg/L DMP, 6.25-81.25 µg/L DMTP, and <LOQ-153.17 µg/L DMDTP. Day 2 urine samples had the highest amount of metabolites. The arithmetic means ranged from 25.8-558 µg/L DMP, 15.75-398 µg/L DMTP, 21.5-568.57 µg/L DMDTP, and <LOQ-17.67 µg/L DEP. The arithmetic means for day 4 ranges from 19.2-182 µg/L DMP, 13.33-138 µg/L DMTP, 22.75-157.83 µg/L DMDTP, and <LOQ-26 µg/L DEP. From the questionnaire, the exposure algorithm based on duration of hours worked, PPE use and pesticide ingestion showed poor relationship with urine concentration (r=0.1847). The linear relationship is not established due to variability within and between applicators

Local community acceptance of the rare earth industry: the case of the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) in Malaysia

This paper provides a detailed analysis of the local community response to a newly installed rare earth (RE) refinery facility and the factors underlying its acceptance. House-to-house interviews, using structured questionnaire, were conducted in 2013 (N = 370). Results show that the community was divided into deciding whether they agreed with the presence of the facility, 41.36 % (for) and 41.62 % (against). The remaining fraction of the community was undecided, which made up 17.03 % of the total respondents. This paper identifies six significant predictors of risk acceptance: gender, education status, place of residence, Factor 1 (variables—perception of safety, concern on effects, and trust in the operators), Factor 2 (variables—social and individual benefits), and Factor 3 (variables—no confidence in government). This study gives insights on how the public respond to potential hazardous facilities and highlights the need for policy makers to consider public sentiment which can interfere with further expansion of the RE industry