Alireza Yavar¹, Sukiman Bin Sarmani², Ainon Hamzah³, Jamal Hisham Hashim⁴, Syed Mohamed Aljunid⁴, Khoo Kok Siong^1,

A credible database of the elemental concentrations in the soils of a region is essential for monitoring changes in elemental contamination. Naturally occurring toxic elements in the environment are a serious problem in at least 10 provinces of Cambodia, and Kandal is one of the most greatly affected. We used the k₀-instrumental neutron activation analysis (k₀-INAA) method to determine the concentrations of As, Ce, Co, Cr, Cs, Eu, Fe, Gd, Hf, Ir, K, La, Lu, Mn, Na, Pa, Pm, Sc, Sm, and Zn in 8 soil samples from Phumi Khleang Village, Cambodia. The accuracy of the method was appraised by analysing IAEA-Soil 7, IAEA-SL 1, NBS SRM 1633A-1, and IAEA-Soil 375 as the reference materials. The baseline concentrations of 4 potentially toxic elements were as follows: As, 15.90–17.03 mg/kg; Cr, 48.89–80.45 mg/kg; Mn, 620–719 mg/kg; and Zn, 61.52–150.20 mg/kg. The consumption of toxic metals in soil is a risk to public health in the studied regions.

baseline concentration, soil contamination, k₀-instrumental neutron activation analysis, Cambodia