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Stability of Arsenic Species in Soils Contaminated Naturally and in an Anthropogenic Manner

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Abstract

Stability and transport of As species in soils were investigated in three contaminated Central European regions in the Czech Republic; one of them represents naturally contaminated area, the others are results of a former mining activity. Total As content varied from 60 to <18,000 ppm depending on locality and sampling layer. Sequential extraction procedure (SEP) enabled to distinguish five main fractions of As in soils based on different chemical and binding properties. Non-specifically and weakly sorbed As, as well as As remained in solid rests of samples did not exceed 10% of total As; specifically bounded As varied from 5 to 15%. The substantial portion of As was bound to hydrated Fe oxides (HFO) in amorphous and poorly-crystalline forms (10–30% of the total As) and/or to a well-crystallized forms of the same phases (50–80%). As sorption on HFO surface, particularly on well-crystallized phases represented the most significant and stable As bond in soils. Model leaching experiments illustrated the increased mobility of As species at pH ≈ 7.0 in the soil–groundwater–surface water systems.

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Acknowledgements

This work was part of the Research programme MSM 6046137302 (CR) and Institutional Research Plan no. AV0Z30130516 (Institute of Geology, AS CR, Prague).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Solid State Chemistry, Institute of Chemical Technology in Prague, Technicka 5, 166 28, Prague 6, Czech Republic

    Barbora Doušová, Alexandr Martaus & David Koloušek

  2. Institute of Geology, Academy of Science of the Czech Republic, Rozvojova 269, 165 02, Prague 6, Czech Republic

    Michal Filippi

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  1. Barbora Doušová
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  2. Alexandr Martaus
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  3. Michal Filippi
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  4. David Koloušek
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Correspondence to Barbora Doušová.

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Doušová, B., Martaus, A., Filippi, M. et al. Stability of Arsenic Species in Soils Contaminated Naturally and in an Anthropogenic Manner. Water Air Soil Pollut 187, 233–241 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-007-9511-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-007-9511-0

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