GEOCHEMICAL SPECIATION OF VANADIUM AND NICKEL FROM SELECTED MANGROVE AREAS ALONG THE WEST COAST OF PENINSULAR MALAYSIAJAFARU MALAM AHMED, AHMAD ISMAIL AND SYAIZWAN ZAHMIR ZULKIFLIAbstract Continuous use of products containing vanadium (V) and nickel (Ni) along the coastal areas present potential threat to the coastal environment and biota. Hence, this study was conducted to determine V and Ni geochemical speciation in surface sediments from selected mangrove areas along the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The four-steps sequential extraction technique (SET) was used to extract these metals based on their leachability behaviour and describing their origin. Results showed the non-resistant fractions to be higher at all the sites for both V (highest in Kuala Gula: 76.89%) and Ni (highest in Kuala Juru: 75.44%) while resistant fractions were higher for both V(30.14%) and Ni (39.22%)in Sungai Tiga, respectively. Mean concentration of V was highest in Sungai Tiga (24.18±1.70 μg/g) in oxidizable organic and Ni in Kuala Juru (22.38±0.05 μg/g) also in oxidizable organic. There was a significant difference (p<0.05) between fractions in different sites. |