Contributions of natural arsenic sources to surface waters on a high grade arsenic-geochemical anomaly (French Massif Central)

Bossy, Angélique; Grosbois, Cécile; Hendershot, William H.; Beauchemin, Suzanne; Crouzet, Catherine; Bril, Hubert

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.05.090

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…There are some localized arsenic hotspots (Vosges, Limousin, Cévennes, and borders of the Massif Central). Previously, Bossya et al (2012) commented on arsenic contamination within the Massif Central. Some of these hotspots are correlated with well-known mining areas (e.g.…”

Section: The Spatial Variation Of Topsoil Arsenic Concentrations Acromentioning

confidence: 99%

A survey of topsoil arsenic and mercury concentrations across France

Marchant

Saby²,

Arrouays³

2017

Chemosphere

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Even at low concentrations, the presence of arsenic and mercury in soils can lead to ecological and health impacts. The recent European-wide LUCAS Topsoil Survey found that the arsenic concentration of a large proportion of French soils exceeded a threshold which indicated that further investigation was required. A much smaller proportion of soils exceeded the corresponding threshold for mercury but the impacts of mining and industrial activities on mercury concentrations are not well understood. We use samples from the French national soil monitoring network (RMQS: Réseau de Mesures de la Qualité des Sols) to explore the variation of topsoil arsenic and mercury concentrations across mainland France at a finer spatial resolution than was reported by LUCAS Topsoil. We use geostatistical methods to map the expected concentrations of these elements in the topsoil and the probabilities that the legislative thresholds are exceeded. We find that, with the exception of some areas where the geogenic concentrations and soil adsorption capacities are very low, arsenic concentrations are generally larger than the threshold which indicates that further assessment of the area is required. The lower of two other guideline values indicating risks to ecology or health is exceeded in fewer than 5% of RMQS samples. These exceedances occur in localised hot-spots primarily associated with mining and mineralization. The probabilities of mercury concentrations exceeding the further assessment threshold value are everywhere less than 0.01 and none of the RMQS samples exceed either of the ecological and health risk thresholds. However, there are some regions with elevated concentrations which can be related to volcanic material, natural mineralizations and industrial contamination. These regions are more diffuse than the hot-spots of arsenic reflecting the greater volatility of mercury and therefore the greater ease with which it can be transported and redeposited. The maps provide a baseline against which future phases of the RMQS can be compared and highlight regions where the threat of soil contamination and its impacts should be more closely monitored.

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Section: The Spatial Variation Of Topsoil Arsenic Concentrations Acromentioning

confidence: 99%

A survey of topsoil arsenic and mercury concentrations across France

Marchant

Saby²,

Arrouays³

2017

Chemosphere

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“…As the major sink for TE, sediments are generally studied to assess the record of historical contamination [3]. They also act as potential secondary pollution sources through physical disturbance (e.g., sediment management and reworking), mineral transformation, and seasonal changes through biological activity, pH and redox variations [4][5][6][7]. Therefore, at a basin scale, sediments play a significant role, controlling the fate of TE throughout their geochemical cycle.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trace Element Contamination in One of the Yangtze Tributaries (Hunan, China)—Source Review and Potential Release from Sediments

Grosbois

Desmet

Zhang

et al. 2021

Water

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Spatio-temporal distribution and leachability of some trace elements (TE) were investigated in sediments of the Xiangjiang River, tributary of the Yangtze River. Based on data collected during 2015–2017, a literature review and geoaccumulation indexes, the pollution level was the highest for Cd, Sb and Hg (Igeo > 3). Over the period reviewed, the TE contamination level displayed almost no temporal variation but an obvious spatial distribution. The most upstream contamination hotspot (Cd > Cr > As, Cu, Pb, Zn > Hg, Sb) was the Songbai section. This hotspot did not spread further downstream. The second hotspot identified was the Zhuzhou–Xiangtan section, impacted by Cd > Hg, Pb, Zn > Cu, with the Zhuzhou area being particularly highly impacted by Pb and Zn. A 30-day leaching experimental protocol under aerobic and anaerobic conditions was carried out to access TE mobility. Low percentages of TE released were calculated, showing that the TE fate mostly depends on the stability of bearing phases under specific physicochemical and microbial conditions. In this case, the studied sediments can be an important sink for these TE. However, some environmental issues have to be considered as some leachate concentrations of contaminants (As, Cr, Cu and U) released into water exceed freshwater aquatic life criteria.

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“…The occurrence of As in groundwater was studied (Smedley and Kinniburgh 2002;Bossy et al 2012;Merola et al 2015), but in small tropical islands, water resource often comes from surface water collection; and the arsenic risk, widely studied in groundwater, is poorly studied in surface water. In New Caledonia, 61% of the water comes from surface water and a third of the main island is covered by weathered ultramafic rocks, containing high concentrations of iron (Fe), manganese, nickel (Ni), cobalt and chromium.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Occurrence of arsenic in ultramafic rocks’ alterites from nickel mines in New Caledonia: implications for the contamination of surface waters

et al. 2020

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Arsenate As(V) and arsenite As(III) are toxic forms of arsenic in waters. The risk of As toxicity is high in small tropical islands because tap water is often provided from surface water, and As contamination of surface water is rarely studied. For instance, the risk is high in New Caledonia because 61% of the water comes from surface water, and nickel mines induce the dispersal of large quantities of ultramafic rocks's alterites rich in iron oxide-hydroxide, which are known to be associated with arsenite and arsenate. Levels exceeding the World Health Organization standard of 10 µg L −1 have been detected in rivers downstream of Ni mines, yet there is a lack of systematic assessment. Here, we analyzed total and exchangeable As in alterites collected near three active mines. Arsenate and arsenite adsorption capacity was studied using batch experiments. The results show that alterite contains total As contents ranging from 0.20 to 5.14 mg kg −1 , yet the primary mineralogical source of As remains unknown. No exchangeable arsenite was detected. Exchangeable arsenate amounted to 0.16 mg kg −1 , thus meaning that 10.3% of the total As is easily mobile. The maximum adsorption capacity of arsenate and arsenite in mining sediments was 1.05 mg kg −1 . Overall, our findings reveal that ultramafic rock alterites are a source of arsenic in surface water in the form of suspended particulate matter, 10.3% of which being easily soluble.

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Contributions of natural arsenic sources to surface waters on a high grade arsenic-geochemical anomaly (French Massif Central)

Cited by 8 publications

References 55 publications

A survey of topsoil arsenic and mercury concentrations across France

A survey of topsoil arsenic and mercury concentrations across France

Trace Element Contamination in One of the Yangtze Tributaries (Hunan, China)—Source Review and Potential Release from Sediments

Occurrence of arsenic in ultramafic rocks’ alterites from nickel mines in New Caledonia: implications for the contamination of surface waters

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