PRESENCE OF HEAVY METALS IN WASTEWATER FROM SELECTED PIG FARMS IN KUALA LANGAT, SELANGOR

Pig farming activity can lead to environmental pollution if the generated waste is not properly treated. According to the Department of Environment (DOE), pig farming significantly contributes to pollution loads in Malaysian rivers, particularly in terms of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Suspended Solids (SS), and Ammoniacalo Nitrogen (AN) (DOE, 2022). With around 1.5 million pigs in Malaysia (DVS, 2023), approximately 60,000 tons of wastewater from pig farms are produced daily (Liang et al., 2016). Aside from high organic content, pig farm wastewater also contains heavy metals originating from feed additives (Li et al., 2022). This study determined the presence and concentrations of heavy metals in wastewater from selected pig farms in Kuala Langat, Selangor, across different stages of wastewater treatment. Keywords: livestock, manure, pollution, water quality, water treatment