Arsenic and mercury contamination in 31 cores taken in 1965, St. Anna Trough, Kara Sea, Arctic Ocean

 Several cores of 31 collected in 1965 in the St. Anna Trough, Kara Sea, have very high concentrations of Hg and As in surface/near-surface samples. Mercury contents range from 94 to 3915 ppb with a mean of 444 ppb and a baseline value of 314 ppb. Arsenic contents range from 5 to 710 ppm with a mean of 51 ppm and a baseline value of 23 ppm. The Hg and part of the As loading is likely anthropogenic from industrial activities in Siberia via atmospheric emission and deposition onto catchments. This is followed by mobilization into fluvial systems and is added to by industrial effluent discharge. Post-depositional diagenesis from depth in the cores contributes to high As values. A north-flowing bottom current transports Hg- and As-bearing suspended material from the Ob River sea discharge zone to depositional environments in the St. Anna Trough. Dumping of military materials and other wastes into the Kara Sea from the late 1940s to 1991 has likely added to Hg and As loading in the trough sediments. The bioavailability of mercury from suspended materials may be the reason why higher than normal levels of these potentially toxic elements are found in European Arctic seabirds, ringed seal and polar bear. Received: 12 December 1999 · Accepted: 23 May 2000     

Hydrogeochemical and multi-tracer investigations of arsenic-affected aquifers in semi-arid West Africa

The semi-arid Sahel regions of West Africa rely heavily on groundwater from shallow to moderately deep(100 m b.g.l.)crystalline bedrock aquifers for drinking water production.Groundwater quality may be affected by high geogenic arsenic(As)concentrations(10μg/L)stemming from the oxidation of sulphide minerals(pyrite,arsenopyrite)in mineralised zones.These aquifers are still little investigated,especially concerning groundwater residence times and the influence of the annual monsoon season on groundwater chemistry.To gain insights on the temporal aspects of As contamination,we have used isotope tracers(noble gases,~3H,stable water isotopes(~2 H,~(18)O))and performed hydrochemical analyses on groundwater abstracted from tube wells and dug wells in a small study area in southwestern Burkina Faso.Results revealed a great variability in groundwater properties(e.g.redox conditions,As concentrations,water level,residence time)over spatial scales of only a few hundred metres,characteristic of the highly heterogeneous fractured underground.Elevated As levels are found in oxic groundwater of circum-neutral pH and show little relation with any of the measured parameters.Arsenic concentrations are relatively stable over the course of the year,with little effect seen by the monsoon.Groundwater residence time does not seem to have an influence on As concentrations,as elevated As can be found both in groundwater with short(50 a)and long(10~3 a)residence times as indicated by ~3He/~4He ratios spanning three orders of magnitude.These results support the hypothesis that the proximity to mineralised zones is the most crucial factor controlling As concentrations in the observed redox/pH conditions.The existence of very old water portions with residence times10~3 years already at depths of50 m b.g.l.is a new finding for the shallow fractured bedrock aquifers of Burkina Faso,suggesting that overexploitation of these relatively low-yielding aquifers may be an issue in the future.     

土壤砷污染特点与植物修复探讨

土壤砷污染一直是国内外关注的热点,植物修复技术是20世纪80年代提出的利用植物治理土壤污染的一种"绿色技术".土壤中砷主要以无机态的形式存在,并主要为Al、Fe、Ca等所吸附而产生共沉淀,水溶态的砷含量一般小于总砷的5%.砷污染区的植物砷含量一般高于非污染区,具有耐贫瘠、耐干旱且地带性不是很强的特点.到目前为止,世界范围内已发现3种超富集砷的植物.根据野外调查与分析,利用超富集植物治理土壤轻度砷污染是可行的.     

改性粘土对虾夷扇贝(Mizuhopecten yessoensis)体内麻痹性贝毒的影响

目前,改性粘土技术已成为国内外普遍认可的有害赤潮治理方法,但在利用该技术治理产毒藻赤潮过程中,对底栖滤食性贝类体内毒素累积和排出的影响尚不清楚。通过室内实验,考察了聚合氯化铝改性粘土(MC I)絮凝典型产毒藻——太平洋亚历山大藻(Alexandrium pacificum)后,虾夷扇贝食用组织和消化腺组织中麻痹性贝毒(paralytic shellfish poisoning,PSP)含量、组分的变化情况。研究结果表明,在前期毒素累积阶段,虾夷扇贝暴露于A. pacificum 3 h后,未添加改性粘土的对照组中虾夷扇贝食用组织毒素水平由空白组的未检出迅速升高至13.24µg STXeq/kg,消化腺组织毒素水平由0.68µg STXeq/kg升高至42.97µg STXeq/kg,第4 d时对照组食用组织、消化腺组织毒素水平达到最高,分别为258.67和3 208.40µg STXeq/kg。添加0.2 g/L MC I的实验组中,3 h后水体中97%的A.pacificum藻细胞被絮凝沉降,此时虾夷扇贝食用组织和消化腺组织毒素水平远低于对照组,分别为6.33和18.39µg STXeq/kg,第2 d时达到98.92和574.54µg STXeq/kg,均显著低于对照组(P<0.05),随后呈下降趋势。在随后的毒素排出阶段,实验组虾夷扇贝食用组织和消化腺组织毒素水平显著低于对照组(P<0.05)。另外,在累积阶段,对照组和实验组虾夷扇贝食用组织和消化腺组织中PSP各组分相对含量差异不大,说明改性粘土未对虾夷扇贝体内的PSP转化造成明显影响。由实验结果可见,改性粘土可有效絮凝去除水体中的A.pacificum藻细胞,减少虾夷扇贝对其的滤食,从而降低了PSP在贝类体内的积累,该研究结果将为改性粘土治理底栖贝类养殖水体有毒赤潮提供科学依据。     

流速对TSMS定位精度的影响研究

隧道断面测量系统TSMS的测量精度直接影响着沉管水下对接精度和可靠性,为确定测量精度,研究了TSMS的工作原理和定位模型,在此基础上,推导了定位误差模型及流速影响模型,分析了流速对TSMS定位精度的影响,并给出了一些有益的结论。     

Immobilization of Cu and As in two contaminated soils with zero-valent iron – Long-term performance and mechanisms

Immobilization of trace elements in contaminated soils by zero-valent iron (ZVI) is a promising remediation method, but questions about its long-term performance remain unanswered. To quantify immobilization and predict possible contaminant remobilization on long timescales detailed knowledge about immobilization mechanisms is needed. This study aimed at assessing the long-term effect of ZVI amendments on dissolved copper and arsenic in contaminated soils, at exploring the immobilization mechanism(s), and at setting up a geochemical model able to estimate dissolved copper and arsenic under different scenarios. Samples from untreated and ZVI-treated plots in two field experiments where ZVI had been added 6 and 15 years ago were investigated by a combination of batch experiments, geochemical modeling and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy. Dissolved copper and arsenic concentrations were described by a multisurface geochemical model with surface complexation reactions, verified by EXAFS. The ZVI remained “reactive” after 6–15 years, i.e. the dissolved concentrations of copper and arsenic were lower in the ZVI-treated than in the untreated soils. There was a shift in copper speciation from organic matter complexes in the untreated soil to surface complexes with iron (hydr)oxides in the ZVI-treated soil. The pH value was important for copper immobilization and ZVI did not have a stabilizing effect if pH was lower than about 6. Immobilization of arsenic was slightly pH-dependent and sensitive to the competition with phosphate. If phosphate was ignored in the modeling, the dissolution of arsenate was greatly underestimated.     

Arsenic and fluoride in a loess aquifer in the central area of Argentina

The objective of this study is to analyze the geochemical conditions associated with the presence of arsenic (As) and fluoride (F) in the phreatic aquifer of Coronel Moldes, in the central sector of the Argentine Chacopampean plain. The studied aquifer is composed of silty sand sediments of aeolian origin, typically loess-like sediments. The geochemical composition of water varies from sodium bicarbonate to sodium sulfate-chloride water. As contents range from low concentrations, below detection level, to 250 μg/l. High values of F (up to 12 mg/l) were recorded. A high As–F correlation was found (R ² = 0.84). The pH varied from 7.31 to 8.85 and the nitrates reached concentrations up to 200 mg/l, indicating an oxidant environment. The highest values of As and F agreed with sodium bicarbonate waters as well as with the highest values of pH recorded. There was a high correlation between As and F⁻ as well as between As and the Na/Ca ratio. The composition and texture of loess, low permeability and hydraulic gradients together with the geochemical features of sodium bicarbonate waters are proper conditions for the mobilization of As and F in groundwater in the central area of Argentina.     

Treatment of arsenic rich waters by the HDS process

Arsenic contaminated waters are not uncommon; indeed from naturally occurring contaminated waters through to those that are a direct consequence of human activities such as mining, all are affecting the quality of water resources worldwide. The ever increasing demands on natural water resources mean that the effective control of this toxic contaminant is paramount and this is reflected in the ever increasing global legislation.There are currently three mechanisms by which arsenic is commercially treated in effluents. These are physical separation processes such as reverse osmosis, precipitation/adsorption processes, some of which are bacterially assisted, and a whole variety of ion exchange processes, again with some bacterial enhancement. The choice of treatment is not only driven by cost but by the chemistry of the water and the water quality standard to be met.In this study a very high arsenic enriched groundwater, containing in excess of 25,000 µg/L arsenic, was treated by a typical treatment method through a continuously operated pilot plant. In the treatment, iron III salts were added to the influent in order to form precipitates with the arsenic and to form an adsorptive surface that would assist with treatment of the enriched water. This addition of iron III salts for the removal of arsenic is common practice in the water treatment industry as the resulting iron III arsenates are highly stable.However, results from the pilot plant show that the process was further enhanced by the addition of small amounts of hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide is a powerful oxidising reagent and assists in ensuring the complete conversion of any arsenic III to arsenic V that was then effectively removed in the pilot plant. After treatment residual arsenic levels of 10 µg/L were obtained compared to 68 µg/L without oxidation reagent addition.     

Arsenic remobilization from sediments contaminated with mine tailings near the Adak mine in Västerbotten district (northern Sweden)

Weathering of mine tailings have resulted in high As concentrations in water (up to 2900 μg l^− 1) and sediment (up to 900 mg kg^− 1) samples around the Adak mine. Notably, As occurs as As(III) species (15–85%) in the oxic surface and ground water samples, which is not common. Time-series based sediment incubations were set up in the laboratory with contaminated sediments to study the microbial processes involved in transformation and remobilization of As across the sediment–water interface. The microcosm experiments indicate that microorganisms are capable of surviving in As-rich sediments and reduce As(V) to As(III). A decrease in total As concentration in sediments is coupled to an increase in As(III) concentration in the aqueous media. In contrast, the controls (treated with HgCl₂ and formaldehyde) did not show growth, and As(V) concentrations increased steadily in the sediments and aqueous medium. The results imply that active metabolism is necessary for As(V) reduction. These microorganisms possess reduction mechanisms that are not necessarily coupled to respiration, but most likely impart resistance to As toxicity.     

吉林省西部地方性氟、砷中毒现状及治理

吉林省西部是地方病高发地区,尤其是地方性氟、砷中毒的情况比较严重,尽管防氟改水工作已经进行40多年,但目前仍有相当多村屯的村民饮用高氟水,严重威胁人民的身体健康并影响当地的经济发展。针对现状作者分析了产生的原因并提出具体治理建议。