In field arsenic removal from natural water by zero-valent iron assisted by solar radiation

An in situ arsenic removal method applicable to highly contaminated water is presented. The method is based in the use of steel wool, lemon juice and solar radiation. The method was evaluated using water from the Camarones River, Atacama Desert in northern Chile, in which the arsenic concentration ranges between 1000 and 1300 μg L⁻¹. Response surface method analysis was used to optimize the amount of zero-valent iron (steel wool) and the citrate concentration (lemon juice) to be used. The optimal conditions when using solar radiation to remove arsenic from natural water from the Camarones river are: 1.3 g L⁻¹ of steel wool and one drop (ca. 0.04 mL) of lemon juice. Under these conditions, removal percentages are higher than 99.5% and the final arsenic concentration is below 10 μg L⁻¹. This highly effective arsenic removal method is easy to use and inexpensive to implement.     

Arsenic forensic modeling leads to decommission of downgradient/off-site monitoring wells

Arsenic was detected at concentrations exceeding the regulatory limit of 0.010 milligrams per liter (mg/L) in an off-site bedrock monitoring well downgradient of a former electroplating facility in Merrimack, New Hampshire. The bedrock underlying the site is associated with naturally occurring high concentrations of groundwater arsenic. Geochemical modeling was used to evaluate whether the arsenic in bedrock groundwater at the off-site monitoring location was site-related or naturally occurring. The hydrogeochemical signature of the off-site bedrock well did not resemble signatures of site-impacted bedrock wells. Multiple lines of evidence support that the arsenic observed in off-site bedrock groundwater was not a result of adverse impacts from site-related groundwater contamination.     

原子荧光法测定土壤中的砷

砷在世界各地的土壤中有着广泛的分布.砷会影响到人内脏器官功能,而且具有致癌性、致突变和致畸性.在测定土壤中砷的过程中,采用硝酸、硫酸、高氯酸消解体系进行对土壤进行消解处理,氢化物发生-原子荧光光谱法进行测定,具有很好的准确性和精密度.     

凭祥金矿风化剖面中砷的地球化学研究

利用连续提取法结合电子探针分析对龙塘金矿风化剖面中砷的赋存状态及其地球化学行为进行了研究。结果表明金矿区表层土壤中砷含量达588mg/kg,是土壤质量标准的十几至几十倍，该土壤已受到砷的严重污染。风化母岩中砷主要赋存于含砷黄铁矿与毒砂之中，而风化样品中砷主要赋存于晶质氧化铁中，其次为非晶质氧化铁之中，其他三个结合态相对较少。风化初期，含砷黄铁矿与毒砂风化溶解，其中大部分砷被风化溶液淋失，其他砷被氧化铁吸附。非晶质氧化铁结合态砷在风化过程中显示先升后降的趋势，而晶质氧化铁结合态砷则逐渐升高。雨水对表层土壤的冲刷、风化母岩中硫化物的风化溶解、风化产物中氧化铁在饱和条件下的溶解等都会使剖面中的砷释放出来，对周围环境造成潜在的威胁。     

对Ag—DDC光度法测砷的分析

用Ａｇ－ＤＤＣ光度法测砷时，影响测定结果的准确度因素较多．本文重点阐述影响原因及其解决办法．     

土壤中铜的形态及其转化

本文报告了使用连续提取方法研究加铜培育的黄棕壤、水稻土、红壤、砖红壤中铜的形态,并初步考察了土壤酸度、氧化还原状况等因素对铜形态的影响,对铜在不同矿物之间结合形态的转化进行了模拟。     

Comparison between background concentrations of arsenic in urban and non-urban areas of Florida

Arsenic contamination is of great environmental concern due to its toxic effects as a carcinogen. Knowledge of arsenic background concentrations is important for land application of wastes and for making remediation decisions. The soil clean-up target level for arsenic in Florida (0.8 and 3.7 mg kg⁻¹ for residential and commercial areas, respectively) lies within the range of both background and analytical quantification limits. The objective of this study was to compare arsenic distribution in urban and non-urban areas of Florida. Approximately 440 urban and 448 non-urban Florida soil samples were compared. For urban areas, soil samples were collected from three land-use classes (residential, commercial and public land) in two cities, Gainesville and Miami. For the non-urban areas, samples were collected from relatively undisturbed non-inhabited areas. Arsenic concentrations varied greatly in Gainesville, ranging from 0.21 to approximately 660 mg kg⁻¹ with a geometric mean (GM) of 0.40 mg kg⁻¹, which were lower than Miami samples (ranging from 0.32 to 112 mg kg⁻¹; GM=2.81 mg kg⁻¹). Arsenic background concentrations in urban soils were significantly greater and showed greater variation than those from relatively undisturbed non-urban soils (GM=0.27 mg kg⁻¹) in general.     

Effect of arsenic compounds on Vibrio fischeri light emission and butyrylcholinesterase activity

The effect of organic arsenic compounds and inorganic As(V) and As(III) on Vibrio fischeri luminescence and butyrylcholinesterase activity were evaluated using Microtox and microcalorimetric analysis. Organic arsenic compounds were arsenocholine (AsC), arsenobetaine (AsB), dimethylarsinic acid (DMA), monomethylarsonic acid (MMA) and the antibiotic 4-hydroxy-3-nitrobenzene arsonic acid (HNAA, Roxarsone^(R)). HNAA, As(III) and As(V) were found to inhibit Vibrio fischeri light emission whereas MMA, DMA, AsC and AsB produced only a slight effect. By contrast, only AsC, AsB and As(III) were found to inhibit butyrylcholinesterase activity. Selected article from the 6th European Meeting on Environmental Chemistry, University of Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro organized by Prof. Dr. Branimir Jovancicevic (www.research.plymouth.ac.uk/ace).     

A sensitive spectrophotometric method for the determination of arsenic in environmental samples

We developed a cost-effective and sensitive spectrophotometric method for the determination of arsenic at trace level using a new reagent, leuco malachite green. Here we show that, arsenic reacts with potassium iodate in acidic conditions to liberate iodine, and the liberated iodine selectively oxidizes leuco malachite green to malachite green dye. We studied the Beer’s law at 617 nm, which showed linearity over the concentration range 0.09–0.9 μg ml⁻¹ of arsenic. We show that the molar absorptivity, Sandell’s sensitivity and detection limit of the method are 6.1 × 10⁴ l mol⁻¹ cm⁻¹, 0.0012 μg cm⁻² and 0.025 μg ml⁻¹, respectively. We applied the developed method for the determination of arsenic in environmental samples.     

Distribution and Fractionation of Copper in Soils of Apple Orchards (5 pp)

Background Frequent application of Bordeaux mixture, which includes copper, as a fungicide in fruit and grape orchards may lead to copper accumulation in the soil, especially when orchard age and application times increase. The objectives of this study were: (i) to investigate the copper content and its spatial distribution in orchard soils; (ii) to identify the copper fractionation in soil and its relationship with plant uptake; (iii) to understand the characteristics of copper contamination in orchard soils. Materials and Methods Soil profile samples were taken in apple orchards with ages of 0, 5, 10, 20, 30 years and pot experiments were also carried out to study the effects of external copper input on copper fractionation. All soil samples were air-dried, ground and extracted with 0.43 mol L–1 HNO3 for the total absorbed copper. Fractionation determination was conducted following Tessier and Shuman sequential extraction methods, and copper was measured with AAS. Plant samples were first dry ashed, dissolved with 6 mol L–1 HCl and then copper and other elements were measured with ICP-MS.Results and Discussion Soil total Cu was higher in the apple orchards than that in non-orchard fields and was seen to have increased with orchard age. Soil Cu increased substantially with the average annual copper increase, ranging from 2.5 to 9 mg Cu kg–1. The distribution of copper in the soil profile was uneven, decreasing from surface to deeper layers, and the differences were significant, but the contents in every layer were also significantly correlated with those in the next layers. For all copper fractions, the organically bound, crystalline Mn oxide bound, and amorphous Fe bound fractions extracted with the Shuman method were much higher than the exchangeable and residual fractions. Using the Tessier method, organically bound, carbonate bound and Fe-Mn oxide bound fractions were much higher. With an increase in external copper input, the organically bound, crystalline Mn oxide bound and amorphous Fe bound fractions in the Shuman method and organically bound, carbonate bound and Fe-Mn oxide bound fractions in the Tessier method all increased significantly, while the changes in other fractions were not significant. Soil total copper and copper fractions were found to have good correlations with apple tree uptake. Copper in fruit flesh had significant correlations with soil total content in the 0–10 cm layer, all the copper fractions in the 0–5 cm layer, and some fractions in the deeper layers. Conclusion Copper content in orchard soils increased significantly with intensive application of Bordeaux mixtures and orchard age. Copper content decreased sharply from the topsoil to deeper soil layers. The copper contents in different layers also significantly correlated with those in the next layers. Dominant fractions of the copper in soil were mainly associated with organic matter, iron and manganese oxides and carbonates. A close relationship was found between the copper content in soils and in apple tree organs (which contained 8.9 to 66mg kg–1 Cu). Recommendation and Perspective Though most copper in the soil was specifically adsorbed or immobilized, and copper was mainly distributed in topsoil, which was essentially devoid of roots, the copper concentration of fruit still had significantly positive correlations with soil copper and most copper fractions. Therefore, measures must be taken to control copper accumulation in orchard soils and to make the apple fruit production sustainable.