Evaluation of the status and distributions of heavy metal pollution in surface sediments of the Langat River Basin in Selangor Malaysia

Highlight
• Heavy metal concentrations were more elevated in the downstream relative to its upper stream.
• Jugra, Jenjarom and Hulu Langat had major effect on the pollution of the Langat River.
• Physicochemical parameters correlated well with heavy metal concentrations.

The concentration of four metals: Cd, Ni, Cr, and Sn, in the surface sediment samples from the Langat River were evaluated. Multivariate techniques were used to apportion the sources of the metals. The results showed that the highest concentration of metals in the Langat River were found at Jenjarom station, with the concentration of these metals decreasing in the order of Sn > Cr > Ni > Cd (114.27, 21.03, 7.84, 0.59 μg g− 1 dry weight). The level of pollution in the sediment was assessed using contamination factor (CF), pollution load index (PLI), geo-accumulation index (Igeo), and enrichment factor (EF). The results of the pollution assessment showed that the Langat River sediments have severe enrichment of Sn and moderate to severe enrichment of Cd. The results of the PLI for the Langat River suggest that the sampling stations are not polluted with the exception of the Jugra, Jenjarom, and Jalan Hulu Langat stations.