DEGREE PROJECT IN ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING, SECOND CYCLE, 30 CREDITS STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN 2017
Geochemical Investigation of Arsenic in Drinking Water Sources
ENRICO LUCCA
KTH ROYAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
Geochemical Investigation of Arsenic in Drinking Water Sources in Proximity of Gold Mining Areas within the Lake Victoria Basin, in Northern Tanzania
ENRICO LUCCA
Supervisor Prosun Bhattacharya
Examiner Ann-Catrine Norrström
Supervisor at Dept. of Water Resources Engineering University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Felix Mtalo
Degree Project in Environmental Engineering and Sustainable Infrastructure KTH Royal Institute of Technology School of Architecture and Built Environment Department of Sustainable Development, Environmental Science and Engineering SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden
Summary
Access to safe drinking water is a challenge for rural communities in many developing countries. Drinking contaminated water endangers human health and impairs social and economic development. Arsenic (As) is a metalloid widely distributed into the environment and is highly toxic in its trivalent inorganic form. The natural occurrence of As in groundwater used for drinking has been associated to the insurgence of skin disorders and respiratory diseases in many parts of the world.
Arsenic is frequently found in the form of sulphide in gold deposits. Human exposure to As via drinking water has resulted from gold mining activities in some instances in USA, Asia, South America and Africa.
The problem of As in drinking water has been brought to attention in Tanzania only few years ago and further investigation are therefore needed to enable an early detection of harmful exposures. This study aims to assess occurrence, source and mobilization mechanisms of As in some drinking water sources within the Lake Victoria Basin, in Northern Tanzania. Rural communities living in areas known for artisanal and large-scale gold mining activities were the target of the present study.
Fifty-four water samples were collected from a variety of drinking water sources (spring, borehole, river and shallow well) in Mara and Geita region during October 2016. pH, electrical conductivity (EC), Redox potential (Eh) and As were measured in situ. Major ions, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and trace elements, including As, were analysed in the sampled water at KTH-Royal Institute of Technology, in Sweden.
53% of the sampled water do not comply with the WHO recommended limit of 10 µg/L, representing a serious health risk for some rural communities within the Lake Victoria Basin. The spatial distribution of As in the area under investigation is highly heterogeneous and it is mainly influenced by local geology and proximity to the mining sites (approx. < 5 km). Lower As levels in boreholes than in rivers and shallow wells indicates contamination of surface drainage by mining activities and suggest that deep groundwater ( > 40 m) generally represent a source of safer drinking water.
The field-measured Redox potential indicates oxidising conditions, suggesting that oxidation-dissolution of arsenic sulphide minerals is a major mechanism of arsenic mobilization in groundwater. However, this study reveals that several geochemical processes control fate and mobility of As, once it has been released into the aquatic environment. Large discrepancies between field and laboratory measurements of As indicates a strong partition of the metalloid into the particulate fraction. As revealed by the geochemical modelling, co-precipitation with iron /aluminium hydroxides and adsorption on clay minerals are presumed to be the major sinks for dissolved As. Moreover, a good match between peaks in As and dissolved organic carbon concentrations suggests that complexation by humic acids is responsible for enhanced As mobility.
Overall, the present study has led to a better understanding of the problem of arsenic in proximity of gold mining areas in Tanzania and it calls for the development of affordable and sustainable solutions which would provide safe drinking water to the affected population. Sommario
L’accesso a una fonte sicura di acqua potabile è un prerequisito fondamentale per la salute umana e per uno sviluppo sostenibile in ambito sociale ed economico. L’arsenico (As) è uno dei contaminanti di origine naturale più diffusi e problematici delle risorse idriche su scala globale. L’ingestione di acqua contaminata da As è stata associata all’insurrezione di gravi patologie cutanee, respiratorie e del sistema nervoso in molte aree del mondo, in particolare in paesi in via di sviluppo. L’As è un metalloide ubiquitario nell’ambiente e la sua origine geologica è talvolta associata a depositi solfuri auriferi. Pertanto, le attività minerarie per l’estrazione dell’oro possono essere la causa di un’estensiva contaminazione delle acque superficiali e sotterranee. Nonostante il problema dell’arsenico sia stato studiato dalla comunità scientifica a livello gloabel, ci sono ancora Paesi in cui l’esposizione al mettalloide non è ancora stata adeguatamente investigata. Un esempio è il la Tanzania.
Questa Tesi si propone di chiarire origine, distribuzione e mobilità dell’arsenico in alcune fonti di acqua usate a scopo potabile nel bacino idrografico del Lago Vittoria, in Tanzania. Le comunità rurali che vivono in prossimità di attività minerarie sono state l’oggetto principale di studio.
Cinquantaquattro campioni sono stati prelevati da diverse fonti d’ acqua nelle regioni Mara e Geita durante Ottobre 2016: pozzi profondi (> 40 m), pozzi superficiali, sorgenti e fiumi. Misurazioni di pH, conducibilità elettrica, potenziale Redox e concentrazione di As sono state eseguite in situ. I campioni d’acqua sono stati analizzati al KTH di Stoccolma per la determinazione degli ioni principali, carbonio organico disciolto e altri elementi presenti in traccia, tra cui l’arsenico.
Il 53% delle fonti campionate presenta una concentrazione di arsenico che eccede il limite 10 µg/L raccomandato dall’Organizzazione Mondiale della Sanità, costituendo un grave rischio per la salute umana. La distribuzione dell’arsenico nelle acque campionate è altamente eterogenea ed è principalmente influenzata dall’assetto geologico locale a dalla vicinanza al sito minerario. Concentrazioni di arsenico minori nei pozzi profondi rispetto a fiumi e pozzi superficiali indica la contaminazione del deflusso superficiale da parte delle attività minerarie e suggerisce che i pozzi profondi siano una fonte di acqua potabile più sicura.
Le misurazioni in situ del potenziale Redox indicano un ambiente ossidante, presumendo quindi che l’ossidazione/dissoluzione di minerali solfuri di arsenico sia il principale meccanismo di rilascio di As nell’acque superficiali e sotterranee. Tuttavia, questo studio rivela che numerosi processi geochimici regolano la mobilità e il destino dell’arsenico. Un’ampia discrepanza rilevata tra le misurazioni di As in situ e in laboratorio indica una forte partizione del metalloide sulla frazione solida. La modellazione geochimica mostra la tendenza a precipitare di alcune fasi solide responsabili dell’adsorbimento e co-precipitazione dell’arsenico: idrossidi di ferro ed alluminio e minerali argillosi. Infine una buona corrispondenza tra picchi nelle concentrazioni di As e di carbonio organico disciolto suggerisce che meccanismi di complessazione superficiale con acidi umici sono responsabili di una maggiore mobilità dell’arsenico. Sammanfattning Tillgångentill rent,säkert vatten är en utmaning på landsbygdssamhällen i många utvecklingsländer. Åtgång på förorenat vatten riskerar människors hälsa och skadar social och ekonomisk utveckling. Naturlig förekomst av arsenik (As) i grundvatten är ett globalt miljöproblem, vilket utgör en allvarlig risk för människors hälsa på grund av metalloidens höga toxicitet.
Med tanke på att arsenic sulfids mineraler är en viktigt del av guld insättning, har guldgruva aktiviteter anvisas som en orsak till att föroreningar av dränering och grundvatten i flera länder.
Problemet med As i dricksvatten har uppmärksammats i Tanzania för några år sedan och det krävs ytterligare undersökning för att möjliggöra tidig upptäckt av skadliga exponeringar.
Denna studie syftar till att bedöma förekomsten, källan och mobiliseringsmekanismerna för arsenik i vissa dricksvattenkällor i Lake Victoria Basin, i norra Tanzania. Landsbygdssamhällen som är kända för hantverksmässiga och storskaliga guldgruva arbeten var målet för den nuvarande studien.
Femtiofyra vattenprover samlades från källvatten, borehålsvatten, floder och grundbrunni Mara och Geita-regionen under oktober 2016. pH, redoxpotential (Eh), temperatur och elektrisk konduktivitet (EC) mättes i fält. Vattenprovernas koncentration av an- och katjoner, spårämnen (bl.a. arsenik), As(III) samt löst organiskt kol (DOC) analyserades i Sverige på Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan (KTH)
Femtiotre procent av det provtagna vattnet överensstämmer inte med WHO: s rekommenderade gräns på 10 μg / l, vilket utgör en allvarlig hälsorisk för vissa landsbygdssamhällen i Victoria-sjön.
Den geografiska fördelningen av As i det undersökta området är högst heterogen och påverkas huvudsakligen av lokal geologi och närhet till gruvplatserna (ca <5km). Lägre As-nivåer i borehål än i floder och grunda brunnar visar att föroreningar av dränering på grund av gruvverksamhet och föreslår att djupt grundvatten (> 40m) i allmänhet utgör en källa till säkrare dricksvatten.
Däremot, visar denna studie att flera geokemiska processer kontrollerar förutbestämmelse och rörligheten för As, när det har blivit frisläppts ut i vattenmiljön.
Stora skillnader mellan fält- och labbmätningar av As indikerar en stark partitionav metalloid i partikelfraktionen. Som avslöjas av geokemisk modellering antas, samutfällning med järn / aluminiumhydroxider och adsorption på lermineraler vara de huvudsakliga sänkorna för upplöst As. Dessutom antyder en bra matchning mellan toppar i As och upplösta organiska kolkoncentrationer att komplexbildning med humana och fulviska syror är ansvarig för förbättrad rörlighet. Acknowledgements
I would like to give my greatest thanks to all the people who supported me during the progress of this Master of Science Thesis, especially: my main supervisor Prof. Prosun Bhattacharya for invaluable and inspiring guidance throughout the whole project. His expertise and friendly attitude have helped me to successfully realize this Thesis work in a pleasant work environment. my supervisor in Italy Rajandrea Sethi for enlightening comments and for always showing prompt availability in discussing the Thesis with me. my local supervisor Prof. Dr.-Ing. Felix Mtalo for all the support and scientific advice during my staying in Tanzania.
I gratefully acknowledge “Åforsk Foundation” to have promoted this research through their financial support.
Special thanks also to the staff of UDSM, particularly to Mtamba and Ullomi for technical and organizational help during the fieldwork and to Mwangoge for being such a friendly driver. I felt warmly welcome at UDSM and I really enjoyed the two weeks of fieldwork in Mara and Geita, especially for the “nyama choma” and “Serengeti” nights. Thanks also to Stephen Magohe from Department of Geology for helping me with the geological maps of Tanzania.
I am grateful to the PhD students involved in the DAFWAT project: Julian for his valuable advice on statistics and spatial distribution, Regina, Fanuel and Vivian for great support in Tanzania and help in the chemistry lab.
I gratefully acknowledge Ezekiel and Agnieszka for a warm and friendly atmosphere in the water lab at KTH and for the great help with the water analysis.
Extra thanks to all the Master Thesis’ students, PhD students and professors of the engineering geology division at KTH for making the last months of this Thesis funnier and sweeter: Ricardo, Jenny, Kajsa, Srinidhi, Rajabu, Sara, Alireza, Caroline, Hedi, Xi, Flavio, Liangchao, Robert, Ulla Mörtberg and Bo Olofsson. Last but no least special thanks to my parents who gave me support and encouragement through all the Thesis work. List of Figures
Figure 1. Eh-pH diagram for the system As-O2-H2O at 25°C showing dominant dissolved species...... 5 Figure 2. Map showing predicted concentrations of As within the Lake Victoria Basin, in Tanzania. Ijumulana et al. (2016) ...... 12 Figure 3. Skin lesions associated with use of contaminated water around North Mara Gold Mine (Bitala et al. 2009; Evjen, 2011)...... 13 Figure 4. Maps showing Lake Victoria Basin boundaries, the two regions under investigation and the location of the gold mining activities targeted in the present study...... 15 Figure 5. Geological map of Lake Victoria Basin in Tanzania and location of Geita Greenstone Belt (GGB) and Mara-Musoma Greenstone Belt (MMGB)...... 18 Figure 6. Maps showing elevation and stream network in Mara (left) and Geita(right)...... 20 Figure 7. Small scale mining: (a) Mining pit (b) grinding mills (c) sluice box for panning (d) amalgamation pond ...... 24 Figure 8. Large-scale mining: (a) Open pit (b) Waste rock pile (c) Tailing storage facility (d) portion of the tailing dam...... 26 Figure 9. Source of drinking water in the study area: (a) Spring (b) borehole (c) stream (d) hand dug shallow well...... 27 Figure 10. Map showing location and type of the water sources considered in the present study...... 29 Figure 11. Arsenic test kit: comparison of colou rdeveloped on the paper strip with the reference colour chart...... 33 Figure 12. Box plot and key descriptive parameters...... 36 Figure 13. Number of samples in each sub-dataset...... 39 Figure 14. Box plots showing values of pH, Redox potential (Eh) and electrical conductivity (EC) characterizing different types of water source...... 42 Figure 15. Piper diagrams of the sampled water characterizing different locations (left) and types of water source (right). Red ellipse indicates a cluster of surface water samples with high
2- SO4 levels...... 43 Figure 16. Concentrations of major anions characterizing different types of water source...... 45 Figure 17. Concentrations of major cations in the four locations under investigation...... 47 Figure 18. DOC concentrations characterizing the four types of water source...... 49 Figure 19. Fe, Al and Mn levels in the sampled water considering both Mara and Geita Region ...... 50 Figure 20. Concentrations of Fe (top-left), Al (top-right), Mn (bottom) in unfiltered (red) and filtered samples (blue). The dot lines represent the median concentration of each dataset...... 51 Figure 21. As concentrations characterizing the four types of water source...... 53 Figure 22. Graph showing discrepancies between lab- and field-measured As. The green line represents percent difference...... 58
- Figure 23. Variation of HCO3 /SiO2 ratio across the four locations under investigation. Only groundwater samples are considered. BM: Butiama/Musoma; GR: Geita Rural; GT: Geita Town; NM: North Mara...... 61 Figure 24. Bivariate plots indicating typical ranges of carbonate and silicate weathering...... 62 Figure 25. Ternary diagrams for groundwater samples in Geita Town, Butiama/Musoma and North Mara...... 63 Figure 26. Correlations between silica and sodium in samples from Geita Region...... 64
2+ - Figure 27. Relationship of Ca with HCO3 and with pH...... 65 Figure 28. Stiff diagrams of representative groundwater samples characterizing the four locations under investigation. Samples ID 7 and 22 are from Geita region, samples ID 39 and 49 are from Mara region...... 66
- Figure 29. Correlation between HCO3 and DOC in surface water (yellow), shallow well (light blue) and borehole (dark-blue)...... 67 Figure 30. Relationship of DOC with (top-left) Eh; (top-right) Fe; (bottom-left) Zn; (bottom-right) As in borehole waters...... 68 Figure 31. Relationship of As with pH in surface water (yellow), shallow well (light blue), spring (green) and borehole (dark-blue) ...... 69 Figure 32. pH-Eh diagram for the As-O-H system with plot of the sampled water ...... 70
2- Figure 33. Correlation between As and SO4 characterizing different types of water source. Note that x-axis is in log scale ...... 71 Figure 34. Relationship of As with (left) Na+ and (right) Ca2+ in silicate (red) and carbonate (blue) rocks...... 72 Figure 35. Correlations between As and DOC characterizing different types of water source ... 72 Figure 36. Graph showing DOC levels (green line), field measurements of As (blue line) and lab measurements of As (red line) in the sampled water...... 73 Figure 37. Relationship between As and (top) Fe; (middle) Al; (bottom) Mn. Note the log scale in the x axis...... 74 Figure 38. Relantioship between As and Ba in Geita and Mara regions...... 75 Figure 39. Saturation indexes for selected solid phases controlling fate and mobility of As...... 77 Figure 40. Saturation indexes for selected solid phases providing indications about the local geology...... 78
List of Tables
Table 1. Overview of As concentrations in drinking water sources from selected parts in the world...... 3 Table 2. Meteorological data for two stations located near the study area. (Crul, 1995) ...... 19 Table 3. Source of data layers used in ArcGIS...... 37 Table 4. Summary of geochemical parameters for the entire dataset...... 41 Table 5. Distribution of As concentrations in the study area...... 52 Table 6. Difference between field measurements and laboratory results for As ...... 57 Table 7. Distribution of aqueous chemical species (%) in selected surface water samples. oxs stands for oxidation state...... 79
Abbreviations
As(III): arsenite, reduced form of arsenic
As(V): arsenate, oxidised form of arsenic
BH: Borehole
BIF: Band Iron Formation
BM: Butiama/Musoma
CN: cyanide
EC: Electrical Conductivity
Eh: Redox potential
GR: Geita Rural
GT: Geita Town
LVB: Lake Victoria Basin
MMGB: Mara-Musoma Greenstone Belt
NM: North Mara
NMGM: North Mara Gold Mine
GGM: Geita Gold Mine
GBB: Geita Greenstone Belt
UN: United Nations
SW: Shallow well
TZA: Tanzania
WHO: World Health Organization Table of contents
1. INTRODUCTION ...... 1
1.1 The Problem of Arsenic in Drinking Water ...... 1
1.2 Problem Definition ...... 2
1.3 Aim and Objectives of the Present Study...... 2
2. BACKGROUND ...... 4
2.1 Distribution of Arsenic in The Environment ...... 4
2.2 Sources and Geochemistry of As in Water ...... 4
2.2.1 Arsenic in natural water...... 5
2.2.2 Arsenic in mine waters ...... 6
2.2.3 Weathering of sulphide minerals ...... 7
2.2.4 Adsorption-desorption ...... 8
2.2.5 Reduction of Fe-hydroxides ...... 9
2.3 Health impacts ...... 9
2.4 Arsenic in Tanzania ...... 10
2.4.1 Health impacts cases in Tanzania...... 12
3. THE STUDY AREA ...... 14
3.1 General Characteristics of Lake Victoria Basin ...... 14
3.1.1 Population and economy ...... 15
3.2 Geology ...... 16
3.3 Topography and Hydrological Setting ...... 19
3.4 Hydrogeology ...... 21
3.5 Gold Mining Activities ...... 22
3.5.1 Small Scale Mining ...... 23
3.5.2 Large Scale Mining ...... 24
3.6 Drinking Water Sources ...... 26
3.6.1 National drinking water points map ...... 27
4. METHODOLOGY ...... 28
4.1 Sampling Strategy ...... 28
4.1.1 Location of the drinking water sources ...... 30
4.2 Sampling Methodology ...... 30
4.3 Field Investigations ...... 31
4.3.1 pH, EC, Temperature and Redox Potential ...... 31
4.3.2 Arsenic Test kit ...... 32
4.4 Laboratory analysis ...... 33
4.4.1 Major anions ...... 33
4.4.2 Major cations and trace elements ...... 34
4.4.3 Accuracy of major ions analysis ...... 35
4.4.4 Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) ...... 35
4.5 Data Management and Interpretation ...... 35
4.5.1 Excel ...... 35
4.5.2 R-software ...... 36
4.5.3 ArcGIS ...... 36
4.5.4 AquaChem ...... 37
4.5.5 PHREEQC and geochemical modelling...... 37
4.6 Limitations ...... 38
5. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ...... 39
5.1 Results of Field Measurements and Laboratory Analyses ...... 40
5.1.1 pH, Redox potential and Electrical Conductivity ...... 42
5.1.2 Major ions ...... 43
5.1.3 Other major elements ...... 48
5.1.4 Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) ...... 48
5.1.5 Al, Fe, Mn...... 49
5.1.6 Arsenic ...... 52
5.1.7 Other trace elements ...... 59 5.2 Relations Between Different Geochemical Parameters...... 59
5.2.1 Local geology and solubility controls on the distribution of major ions . 60
5.2.3 DOC ...... 67
5.2.4 As ...... 69
5.3 Geochemical Modelling ...... 75
5.3.1 Saturation Indexes ...... 76
5.3.2 Aqueous species distribution ...... 78
6. CONCLUSIONS ...... 80
6.1 Final Recommendations ...... 81
BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 82
APPENDIX A. Hydrogeological map of Tanzania ...... 87
APPENDIX B. Water sampling procedure ...... 88
APPENDIX C. As concentration maps ...... 90
APPENDIX D. Sampling location and results of field measurements ...... 93
APPENDIX E. Results of water analysis: major ions ...... 95
APPENDIX F. Results of water analysis: trace elements ...... 97
1. INTRODUCTION
Access to safe drinking water is a prerequisite for good human health and for a social and economic development. United Nations (United Nations, 2008) estimates that nearly a billion of people today do not have access to clean water and this figure is expected to increase in the near future because of greater pressures from population growth, climate change and environmental pollution. Projections in global population growth of 2 – 3 billion by 2050 forewarn an increased water demand for drinking purposes and food production, resulting in further exploitation of water resources. By altering the water cycle, global warming represents a serious threat to water quality and quantity, increasing water scarcity in many arid and semi-arid regions. Pollution from human settlements, industrial and agricultural activities is already impairing the quality of many water sources, particularly in developing countries where environmental regulations and awareness are often poor.
Overall, drinking water availability is expected to decrease in many parts of the world with a major stress on areas already affected by water scarcity. It is therefore crucial to globally assess the quality of drinking water sources prior to further exploitation, in order to reduce the risk for human health.
1.1 The Problem of Arsenic in Drinking Water
Arsenic naturally occurs in the environment. Because of its toxicity, sufficiently high concentrations of inorganic As in air, water and soil are harmful to the organisms (Smedley P. K., 2002). The main routes of As exposure to human beings are drinking water, ingestion of food prepared with contaminated water and consumption of crops irrigated with high As water. Among the various sources of drinking water, the highest concentrations of As have been reported in groundwater resources, posing a worldwide threat to human health (Nriagu et al., 2007). Chronic As poisoning has been associated with consumption of contaminated groundwater in several parts of the world: Argentina, Bangladesh, Chile, China, Ghana, Hungary, India, Mexico, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam (Bhattacharya et al., 2002).The most affected areas are developing countries, where lack of resources poses a limit to scientific research and,
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consequently, to provide access to safe drinking water to the affected population. Table 1 presents a general overview of the problem of As in drinking water in some parts of the world, considering both surface and groundwater resources. In view of the growing health concern, the World Health Organization(WHO) has lowered the recommended value of As concentrations in drinking water from 50 to 10 µg/L in 1993. Whilst many national authorities have lowered their limit in line with WHO guideline values, in some countries, such as Bangladesh, India and Tanzania, the limit is still 50 µg/L .
1.2 Problem Definition
Although the problem of As has been globally addressed in the last decades, there are still areas of the world where it has not been fully investigated. An example is Tanzania, where the problem of As has been brought to attention only few years ago. Recently published studies have addressed the environmental impacts of gold mines and the As contamination of drinking water sources in parts of the Lake Victoria Basin (Ijumulana et al., 2015; Kassenga & Mato, 2008). However, there is a lack of a comprehensive research aiming to provide an exhaustive elucidation about As in mining areas and to enable an early detection of harmful exposures.
1.3 Aim and Objectives of the Present Study
The aim of this study is to investigate the occurrence of As in drinking water sources in the Lake Victoria Basin, in Northern Tanzania. Due to the well-known association between gold mining and As, the present study targets areas in the Lake Victoria region which are historically known for gold extraction at large and artisanal scale.
The objectives of the present study are to:
Assess the quality of drinking water sources in some rural communities within Lake Victoria Basin. Understand occurrence, source and mobility of As in gold mining areas.
Overall, this study should lead to a better understanding of the problem of arsenic in gold mining areas and encourage the development of solutions, which would provide safe drinking water to the affected population.
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Table 1. Overview of As concentrations in drinking water sources from selected parts in the world.
Source of drinking Location As concentration (µg/L) Source of contamination Reference water
Bangladesh Shallow and deep wells <2 - 900 Reduction of Fe-oxyhydroxides in Naidu & Bhattacharya, alluvial sediments 2006
Reducing conditions in alluvial Taiwan Deep wells 10 - 1820 Smedley, 2002 sediments
Oxidation of arsenopyrite in mine Thailand Surface water 1 - 600 Wlliams, et al 1996 wastes
Dissolution of sediments of volcanic origin Bejarano & Nordberg, Argentina Shallow wells 10 - 4000 Desorption of As from Fe, Mn 2003 hydroxides
Oxidation-dissolution of volcanic Chile Surface water 30 - 3310 IARC, 2004 rocks rich in As
Oxidation of As-containing Mexico Shallow wells 50 - 1100 sulphides in sediments and mine Armienta et al.2007 wastes
Ghana Deep wells <1 - 141 Oxidation of arsenopyrite Smedley et al, 1996
Complexes of As with humic Hungary Deep wells <25 - >50 Varsányi &Fodré, 1991 substances
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2. BACKGROUND
This Background chapter provides an overview of the geochemistry of arsenic (As) and of the problem of As in Tanzania. Sources, distribution and mobilization mechanisms of As in natural water are presented in the first two sections, while the health impacts due to As exposure are illustrated in the third subchapter. Finally, previous studies regarding As and drinking water quality in Tanzania will are reported.
2.1 Distribution of Arsenic in The Environment
Arsenic is a natural constituent of the Earth’s crust, with an average abundance of 2 mg/kg (Williams, 2001). From the bedrock, inorganic As enters into the environment through a wide range of natural processes such as weathering of rocks, volcanic eruptions, hydrothermal ore deposits and geothermal activities (Nriagu et al., 2007). Man has had an important role in accelerating the mobilization of As in air, water and soils through mining activities, combustion of fossil fuel, use of pesticides and industrial activities. A combination of natural processes and anthropogenic activities has resulted in As concentrations varying by more than four orders of magnitudes in environmental media. Concentrations in air range between 0.02 and 3 ng/m3 in rural areas, and up to 25 ng/m3 and 100 ng/m3 in cities and in proximity of industrial sites, respectively (Smedley, 2002). Most natural soils contain low concentration of As with background values ranging from 1 to 40 mg/kg; however human activities can cause severe soil contamination, raising the concentrations up to thousands of milligrams per kilogram. Natural occurrence of As in surface and groundwater vary from baseline values of 0.1-2 µg/L to gigantic concentrations of 5 mg/L, depending on geology and hydrology of the surrounding environment. (Gomez-Caminero et al., 2001)
2.2 Sources and Geochemistry of As in Water
Interaction of water with soil, bedrock and sediments is the primary cause for the release of As in natural waters. Once As has entered into the aquatic environment, many natural processes and conditions are responsible for its fate and mobility. As
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shown in Table 1, the specific mechanism of As mobilisation varies depending on the location, mainly due to the influence of local climate and geology, as well as on the Redox condition of the environmental compartment. Consequently, extensively varying As concentration are found in surface water, shallow alluvial aquifers and deep hard rock aquifers. Among all the natural sources of contamination, weathering of sulphide minerals and reduction of Fe-hydroxides are considered the major ones.
2.2.1 Arsenic in natural water. Several processes and conditions control mobilization and speciation of As in natural waters: adsorption-desorption, biological activity and Redox conditions. Inorganic As is predominantly found in natural water in the form of oxyanion,as a pentavalent -n n- (arsenate, HnAsO4 ) or trivalent (arsenite, HnAsO3 ) specie. Under oxidizing conditions, the arsenate species are dominant, whereas under reducing conditions arsenite species predominate. Similarly, pH controls the protonation of As species, - 2- - determining the predominance of H2AsO4 and H3AsO3 over HAsO4 and H2AsO3 . Figure 1 shows the combined influence of Redox potential and pH on As speciation. The oxidation of As(III) to As(V) does not naturally reach completion and therefore co-occurrence of As(III) and As(IV) can be found in natural water.
Figure 1. Eh-pH diagram for the system As-O2-H2O at 25°C showing dominant dissolved species.
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The aqueous chemistry of As in water substantially differs from most of the heavy metal and metalloids naturally occurring in the environment. Most of the trace elements, e.g. lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), cobalt (Co), are present in water solution in the form of cations , i.e. Pb2+, Zn2+,Cd3+, Ni2+, Cu3+,Co2+, whose solubility drastically decreases with increasing pH. In the pH range of natural waters, the presence of trace elements as dissolved species is strongly limited by precipitation of mineral phases, adsorption to metal oxides and clay, and by complexation to humic acids. In contrast, some elements, e.g. chromium (Cr), As, - uranium (U), vanadium (V), are mostly found in the form of oxyanions, i.e. CrxOyHz - - , HnAsO4 , HnUO3 , which are less strongly adsorbed as the pH increases. These oxyanion-forming elements can therefore persist as dissolved species in water at near-neutral pH values. Moreover, dissolved arsenic persists over different redox conditions. Under reducing conditions As(III) is less strongly adsorbed to metals oxides and clay minerals than As(V), in contrast with most of the oxyanion-forming elements, whose reduced species, e.g. selenite, molybdate, vanadate, are less mobile in reducing conditions. (Smedley, 2002; Manning & Goldberg, 1997). The anoxic conditions in subsurface environments and the greater mobility of As(III) contribute to making groundwater systems more at risk to the occurrence of high As concentrations than surface water (Bhattacharya et al., 2002).
2.2.2 Arsenic in mine waters Arsenic is found in more than 200 mineral forms, with arsenopyrite (FeAsS), realgar
(As4S4) and orpiment (As2S3) being the major As-containing primary minerals (Nriagu et al, 2007). Because of their capability to adsorb gold from hydrothermal fluids, these minerals are often associated with hydrothermal gold ores. Exploitation of gold deposits has therefore resulted in widespread As contamination of surface and groundwater systems in many parts of the world. Two are the main sources of As contamination in large scale gold mining operations. The first one is the acidic run-off originating from the waste rocks piles, where weathering of As-bearing minerals occur. When exposed to the atmosphere, the sulphide rich rocks undergo oxidation-dissolution, generating free acidity and liberating heavy metals. The oxidation products of the weathering process are washed away from the rock surfaces during heavy rainfall, forming the so called
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“acid mine drainage”. This mine effluent is characterized by very low pH (2 ÷ 4) and concentration of dissolved heavy metals ranging up to several milligrams per litre. The second source of contamination is wastewater leaching from the tailing storage facility, also known as cyanide reservoir. During gold ore processing, which involves the use of cyanide solution, a fraction of the process water is discarded and stored in the tailing storage facility, that is an artificial reservoir surrounded by embankment dams. Seepage through the tailing dam is usually enriched in cyanide and heavy metals, and it is characterized by strong alkaline pH (9 ÷ 10). Williams (2001) has studied the occurrence of As in mine waters of 34 gold mines in Asia, South America and Africa with the aim of outlining the main factors controlling As mobility in mining areas. Although the liberation of dissolved As is a strongly Eh/pH dependent phenomenon, the hydro chemical study shows As mobility over a wide range of both pH and Eh, supporting the peculiar geochemistry of this metalloid. High As concentrations are associated with the generation of acid mine drainage (pH 2-5), but they have been recorded also in alkaline mine waters, with pH varying in the range 8-10. High concentrations of As in strongly alkaline waters has been explained by complexation with cyanide, seeping from the wastewater storing facilities. Another important control of As mobility in mine waters is the hydrochemistry of iron, because of the tendency of dissolved As oxyanions to be adsorbed on iron hydroxides. Co-precipitation of As with iron has been inferred to be a major sink of dissolved As in mining areas (Bhattacharya et al., 2002). Site-specific climate and mineralogy have also been recognized as important factors in the mobilization of As from mine wastes (Williams, 2001).
2.2.3 Weathering of sulphide minerals When arsenopyrite (FeAsS), and similarly other As-containing minerals, is exposed to water and dioxygen (O2), it is subjected to oxidation and dissolution processes, which leads to the release of As species and free acidity (H+). The complete reaction of arsenopyrite’s weathering can be represented as follow (Bhattacharya et al., 2002):