Confirmation of elevated arsenic levels in groundwater of Myanmar.

ABSTRACT: Millions of villagers across South and Southeast Asia are exposed to toxic levels of arsenic (As) by drinking well water. In order to confirm the field-kit results that Myanmar is also affected, a total of 55 wells were tested in the field in January 2013 and sampled for laboratory analysis across seven villages spanning a range of As contamination in the lower Ayeyarwady basin. Elevated concentrations of As (50-630 μg/L) were measured in wells up to 60 m deep and associated with high levels of Fe (up to 21 mg/L) and low concentrations of SO4 (<0.05 mg/L). Concentrations of As <10 μg/L were measured in some shallow (<30 m) grey sands and in both shallow and deep orange sands. These results indicate that the main mechanism of As release to groundwater in Myanmar is the reductive dissolution

SUBMITTER: van Geen A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3954970 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature