Contamination of shallow aquifers by arsenic in upper reaches of Tista river at Siliguri–Jalpaiguri area of West Bengal, India

Arsenic is present in groundwater at Siliguri–Jalpaiguri area, West Bengal, India. This is the place where Tista river descending from the Himalayas meets the alluvial plain. The area represents alluvial fan and floodplains of Tista, Mahananda-Balasan, Jaladhaka and its tributaries. In the river sediment samples, para- and ferro-magnetic minerals within 0.3–0.05 mm fraction contain 9–80 ppm of arsenic. The study indicates that iron bearing minerals viz. biotite, hornblende as well as iron coated grains of the sediment are major contributors towards arsenic budget. Though magnetite as a mineral shows maximum arsenic content (22 ppm), it is volumetrically not of much significance. Measurement of groundwater collected from tube wells shows up to 0.05 ppm of arsenic. These arsenic contaminated tube wells occur in a linear fashion along the course of the rivers. Moreover, localization of contaminated tube wells coincides with the change of channel gradient as observed in longitudinal section. The study enumerates a cause–effect relationship of arsenic occurrence with river gradient and fluvial sedimentation.     

Study of subsurface geology in locating arsenic-free groundwater in Bengal delta,West Bengal,India

Over a large area of the Bengal delta in West Bengal, India, arsenic distribution patterns in groundwater were studied. One hundred and ten boreholes at different target locations were made, subsurface sediments were logged and analysed, and arsenic values in sediments vis-à-vis groundwater were compared. The study elucidates the subsurface geology of the western part of Bengal delta and characterises the sediments that were intersected in different boreholes with contrasting values of arsenic in groundwater. It reveals an existence of multiple aquifers stacked over each other. Depending on the color and nature of aquifer-sands and their overlying clay beds six aquifer types (Type-1 to Type-6) are classified and described. Sediment-arsenic for all the varieties of aquifer sands are near similar but the groundwater-arsenic of these six aquifers varies widely. Type-2 and Type-5 aquifers host arsenic-contaminated groundwater whereas the other four aquifers are arsenic-free. Type-2 and Type-5 aquifers are capped by a grey to dark grey soft organic matter-rich clay unit which makes these aquifers semi-confined to leaky-confined. These contribute in releasing arsenic from the sediments. The results of this study are employed in a proposed georemedial measure against this hazardous toxic element.     

雷州半岛高桥红树林沉积物中砷的分布

采用五态连续提取法(SEP)对雷州半岛高桥红树林群落内外不同深度的沉积物砷含量进行测定.结果表明,高桥红树林湿地0~60cm深处沉积物中除Al-结合态砷和Ca-结合态砷含量低,难以检出外,交换态砷、残渣态砷、Fe-结合态砷皆可检出,沉积物砷积累以残渣态砷和 Fe-结合态砷为主,总砷测定含量为7.34±0.39~10.32±0.48 mg/kg,其中以20~40cm深处沉积物总砷测含量最多;不同深度沉积物砷含量中林内与林区外裸滩呈现不同的分布规律,林外裸滩-林缘-林内的表土总砷含量的分布呈波浪式分布,以林缘为最高,总砷达9.97±1.29 mg/kg,林内显著大于林外裸滩(p值<0.05),林内沉积物对砷的吸附强度较林外裸滩高     

除砷技术现状与展望

随着除砷技术的发展,生物法和硫化法等除砷技术已应用于工业除砷,混凝法、离子交换法和直接沉淀法等除砷技术在废水除砷中也已广泛应用。在综述了近年来除砷技术在工业中和含砷废水处理上的应用后,对其中各种技术进行了分析,并对我国除砷技术的发展方向进行了展望。     

Treatment of Arsenic Contaminated Groundwater Using Calcium Impregnated Granular Activated Carbon in a Batch Reactor: Optimization of Process Parameters

This paper is an experimental investigation into the removal of arsenic species from simulated groundwater by adsorption onto Ca²⁺ impregnated granular activated carbon (GAC‐Ca) in the presence of impurities like Fe and Mn. The effects of adsorbent concentration, pH and temperature on the percentage removal of total arsenic (As(T)), As(III) and As(V) have been discussed. Under the experimental conditions, the optimum adsorbent concentration of GAC‐Ca was found to be 8 g/L with an agitation time of 24 h, which reduced As(T) concentration from 188 to 10 μg/L. Maximum removal of As(V) and As(III) was observed in a pH range of 7–11 and 9–11, respectively. Removal of all the above arsenic species decreased slightly with increasing temperature. The presence of Fe and Mn increased the adsorption of arsenic species. Under the experimental conditions at 30°C, the maximum percentage removals of As(T), As(III), As(V), Fe, and Mn were found to be ca. 94.3, 90.6, 98.0, 100 and 63%, respectively. It was also observed that amongst the various regenerating liquids used, a 5 N H₂SO₄ solution exhibited maximum regeneration (ca. 91%) of the spent GAC‐Ca.     

Capability of Pentavalent Arsenic Bioaccumulation and Biovolatilization of Three Fungal Strains under Laboratory Conditions

In order to control and remediate arsenic (As) contaminated soil, sediment or water, fungi are used to investigate their potential accumulation and volatilization of As. In this study, after cultivation for 2 days, the dry weights of mycelia for Trichoderma asperellum, Fusarium oxysporum and Penicillium janthinellum all show an increased trend when the As(V) concentration ranges from 0–50, 0–50, 0–80 mg/L, respectively. When the culture system is loaded with 2500 μg As(V), which represents 50 mg/L As, and cultivated for 5 days, P. janthinellum presents the highest efficiency of 87.0 μg/g for As bioaccumulation, and the order of the efficiency for As bioaccumulation is P. janthinellum > T. asperellum > F. oxysporum. However, the order of the amount of volatilized As is F. oxysporum > P. janthinellum > T. asperellum, and the highest amount of volatilized As is observed for F. oxysporum at 181.0 μg. Thus, the ability of As bioaccumulation and biovolatilization for T. asperellum and P. janthinellum is reported for the first time in this study.     

Determination of arsenic concentration and distribution in the Floridan Aquifer System

Here we report on the different sampling strategies for almost seven years of sampling rocks/sediments for the determination of As within the Intermediate Aquifer System (IAS) and upper Floridan Aquifer System (FAS), a very large and productive limestone aquifer spanning from Georgia into Florida. In the FAS, As contamination has become a recurring problem during aquifer storage and recovery (ASR), particularly in central and south Florida.To investigate these phenomena, samples from solid drill cores and rock cuttings were collected from the Hawthorn Group, Suwannee Limestone, Ocala Limestone and Avon Park Formation. Samples were taken along drill cores and rock cuttings (referred to as ‘interval’ samples) or from particular drill core sections and rock cuttings (referred to as ‘targeted’ samples) likely to contain elevated concentrations of As as indicated by the presence of pyrite, hydrous ferric oxide, organic matter, clay minerals, fracture surfaces, and high permeable (moldic) zones.Arsenic was present in all of the stratigraphic units at low concentrations, close to the global average for As in limestone of 2.6 mg/kg. The highest As concentration was 69 mg/kg. In all units, however, the average bulk As concentration in the targeted samples was substantially higher than that in the interval samples. Based on direct spot measurements by electron microprobe and indirect calculations, pyrite was identified as the main source of As in the FAS. Concentrations in pyrite ranged from less than 100 mg/kg to more than 11,000 mg/kg. Because pyrite is heterogeneously distributed, both vertically and horizontally in the sampled stratigraphic units, the same was observed for the distribution of As. However, As concentrations generally decreased with depth, i.e., highest As values in the Hawthorn Group and lowest As values in the Ocala Limestone and Avon Park Formation. Compared to pyrite, other trace minerals contained much less As.The average As concentrations of the two types of sample media (solid cores and rock cuttings) were quite similar. These results indicate that if simply the average bulk rock As concentration of a geologic unit is the desired outcome of an investigation, either interval or targeted sampling of rock cuttings, seems to be sufficient. This is particularly important when time and money are a factor. This approach could work equally well for any other trace element. Structural sedimentary information, such as fractures, etc., is likely lost, however, when sampling rock cuttings. Thus, if this information is required, solid core samples need to be collected by hollow core diamond drilling.     

高砷地下水研究的热点及发展趋势

全球范围内广泛分布的高砷地下水给人们的健康造成了极大的威胁.高砷地下水的形成机理是一项世界性的科学问题.介绍了高砷地下水的分布特点、富集机理,阐明了溶解性有机物、地下水流动特征对高砷地下水形成的影响机制.现今的研究揭示了有机物和微生物协同作用下高砷地下水的形成过程,并且在高砷地下水的空间分布、时间变化特征以及人类活动对高砷地下水形成的影响等方面取得了一些创新性成果.这3方面的研究也逐渐成为近些年高砷地下水研究的热点.这些研究不仅丰富了砷迁移转化的理论成果,而且有助于开辟低砷水源,保障水资源的可持续利用,具有重要的理论和现实意义.