Impacts of a lead smelter in East Java, Indonesia: degree of contamination, spatial distribution, ecological risk, and health risk assessment of potentially toxic elements in soils.

This study investigates the characteristics of potentially toxic elements in soils collected from the vicinity of a lead smelter in East Java, Indonesia. The objective is to assess the impact of the lead smelter on the surrounding soil. The study involves chemical composition analysis, spatial distribution mapping, and potential ecological and health risk assessments. Soil samples were collected from the surface area (0-10 cm) and subsurface (15-30 cm) within radii of 1.5 km, 3 km, and 5 km from the lead smelter. The samples were analyzed for As, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn using energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence. Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed to identify the sources of potentially toxic elements in the soil. The results indicate severe Pb contamination within a 1.5 km radius of the smelter, with an average contamination factor (Cf) value of 22.0, posing a high potential health risk. The contamination factor indicated that the soils were heavily polluted by As and Pb and moderately polluted by Cu, Ni, and Zn. The results of PCA showed that smelter releases are the main source of potentially toxic element contamination in the soil, accounting for 66.2%. The health risk assessment suggested that the children and adults in the study region were exposed to non-carcinogenic risks caused by As and Pb. Oral ingestion was identified as the primary exposure route impacting health risks. The carcinogenic risk from potentially toxic elements in soil was found to exceed the acceptable level for children and adults in the study region. Therefore, it is necessary for the government to take effective measures, including designing regulations and interventions, and improving lead smelter management to mitigate potential contamination and minimize the impact of lead smelter releases on the surrounding environment, especially to protect human health, particularly that of children.

The air quality of Palangka Raya, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia: The impacts of forest fires on visibility.

Airborne particles in urban Palangka Raya, Kalimantan from Oct 2011 until Oct 2020 have been collected and analyzed for PM2.5, PM10, and Black Carbon (BC) concentrations. Palangka Raya is a city that serves the capital of the Central Kalimantan province on the island of Borneo. Kalimantan is affected by peat fires that occur periodically. There were identified increases in PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations during El Niño periods. During the forest fire episode in September - October 2015, PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations increased significantly, to nearly 400 µg/m3 and 800 µg/m3, respectively, and visibility in the city was reduced to < 0.2 miles. The highest BC concentrations were observed during this massive forest fires episode. The regression analyses for PM2.5, PM10 and visibility in Palangka Raya during the period of 2011-2020, showed a non-linear correlation with reduction in visibility due to increased PM2.5 and PM10. There was no correlation for BC with visibility. Air quality in Palangka Raya was at a relatively good level with concentrations below the national ambient air quality standard when there were no forest fires event. Emissions from forest fires caused a substantial reduction in air quality reaching concentrations well above ambient air quality standards and are likely to have caused adverse health effects on the people living in the area.Implications: Indonesia has repeatedly experienced forest fires, especially on Kalimantan and Sumatera Islands, which burned large areas of peatland. The forest fires leading to increasing PM concentrations especially in the PM2.5 size range which influence visibility. The seasonal variations of BC in Palangka Raya and the relationships of fine particulates with visibility were assessed. The results of regression analyses for PM2.5 and PM10 to visibility during the period of 2011-2020 showed non-linear relationships. An increasing of PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations during El Nino periods were detected well above the ambient air quality standard. To ensure effective and continued handling and prevention of forest and peatland fires, the government set up a special task force and review on several rules, including laws and government regulations as well as governor regulations that permit the burning of forest and peatland areas. These results are expected to be used to formulate more effective mitigations in reducing forest fires events in Indonesia.

Determinations of Minerals Composition of Rices in Java Island, Indonesia.

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is one of the staple foods widely consumed by Indonesian people. They usually have rice as the biggest portion on their diet, therefore rice becomes the main source of nutrients of Indonesian people mainly for those whom live in Java Islands. Although rice is known to contain various minerals, but the minerals level are varied based on differences in geographic region associated with soil quality. Hence, quantity and quality of minerals content of rice from different regions of the world are particularly important to be characterized. The present aim of the study was to assess the composition of mineral of rice from different geographical regions in Java Islands, Indonesia using nuclear analytical techniques i.e. Neutron Activation Analysis method... Quality control of data analysis was assessed using SRM NIST Rice Flour 1568a and gave good results with accuracy (% bias) ≤5% and precision (%CV) less than 10%. The essential elements contents such as Fe, Zn, and Se were quantified and found in the range of 2.8-60.9, 2.48-28.8, and 0.01-2.17 mg/kg respectively, while for the toxic elements, Cr and Co in rice are also quantified and found in the range of 0.03-1.24 and 0.003-0.59 mg/kg, respectivelyThe elemental concentrations in rices from Java Island followed the order Zn>Fe>Se>Cr>Co. It also found that rices from East Java Province have higher concentrations of Fe and Se, while the highest mean of Zn concentration was found in the rices from Jakarta province. The daily intake of those elements in rices give significant contribution to their RDA values. These results of mineral contents in rice hopefully can be used as one of references for estimating daily nutritional intake status of especially Javanese people.

Characterization of Micronutrients in Tofu from Several Cities in Java Island Indonesia.

Tofu is a traditional food such as curd made from soymilk with additional coagulants which is widely consumed by people in Indonesia and Asian countries. Tofu is one of the important sources of micronutrients, such as cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), iron (Fe), selenium (Se) and zinc (Zn). Therefore, the content of various elements both toxic and essential need to be studied to ensure the food safety and estimating their contribution to daily intake. METHODS: In this research, the determination of micronutrient content in tofu was carried out in the samples collected from traditional market in Jakarta, Yogyakarta, West, Central and East Java Provinces during the period 2010-2014. Determination of elemental concentration was carried out using neutron activation analysis (NAA) methods. RESULTS: Analysis result showed that the elemental concentrations of Co, Cr, Fe, Se and Zn in tofu were in the range of 0.001-0.27; ≤0.001-0.35; ≤0.050-62.90; ≤0.0046-5.34 and 0.02-21.19 mg/kg respectively. The daily intake value of tofu is calculated by estimating their contribution based on the concentration and consumption data. The average daily intake of Co, Cr, Fe, Se and Zn contributes to 1.33-11.95; 2.10-2.93; 2.66-5.99, 13.1 and 1.95-2.69% of RDA values for adult women and men. CONCLUSIONS: The analysis shows that there are variations in the concentration of micronutrients contained in tofu from the five provinces. Tofu has contributed RDA of Co, Cr, Fe, Se, and Zn in almost all regions observed, tofu consumption contributed only a low fraction of RDA value for an adult.