Comparison Results of the Two Different Enrichment Factor Analysis Methods of Heavy Metals in the West Banjir Kanal River Sediment, Central Java

Abstract

The West Banjir Kanal (WBK) River in Semarang City is a river that plays an important role in supporting the various needs of the people of Semarang City. Land use around the river and utilization of WBK river water, cause river water to be contaminated with heavy metals, which have the potential to accumulate in sediments. This study was conducted to analyze and compare the results of the analysis of metal enrichment factors Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, and Zn in the sediments of the WBK river, Semarang, with 2 different methods. The study was conducted at 7 sampling stations, representing estuaries, middle, and upper reaches of rivers. Sediment was collected with Van Veen Grab, then prepared with wet digestion, then analyzed the metal concentration with AAS. The results showed that the concentration of metals in the sediment at the studied station was still within the limits of natural concentration. The enrichment factor of the metals Cd and Zn is smaller than 1, however, for other metals (Cr, Cu, and Pb) some have exceeded 1. The test results of the comparison of Cr, Cu, and Pb metal enrichment factors in sediments differed markedly for the 2 different methods. But on metals Cd and Zn can not be compared, because the variety of data is 0.