Arsenic in drinking water: a worldwide water quality concern for water supply companies
-
Published:2009-06-30
Issue:1
Volume:2
Page:29-34
-
ISSN:1996-9465
-
Container-title:Drinking Water Engineering and Science
-
language:en
-
Short-container-title:Drink. Water Eng. Sci.
Author:
van Halem D.,Bakker S. A.,Amy G. L.,van Dijk J. C.
Abstract
Abstract. For more than a decade it has been known that shallow tube wells in Bangladesh are frequently contaminated with arsenic concentrations at a level that is harmful to human health. By now it is clear that a disaster of an unheard magnitude is going on: the World Health Organization has estimated that long-term exposure to arsenic in groundwater, at concentrations over 500 μg L−1, causes death in 1 in 10 adults. Other studies show that problems with arsenic in groundwater/drinking water occur in many more countries worldwide, such as in the USA and China. In Europe the focus on arsenic problems is currently confined to countries with high arsenic levels in their groundwater, such as Serbia, Hungary and Italy. In most other European countries, the naturally occurring arsenic concentrations are mostly lower than the European drinking water standard of 10 μg L−1. However, from the literature review presented in this paper, it is concluded that at this level health risks cannot be excluded. As consumers in European countries expect the drinking water to be of impeccable quality, it is recommended that water supply companies optimize arsenic removal to a level of <1 μg L−1, which is technically feasible.
Publisher
Copernicus GmbH
Subject
Pollution,Water Science and Technology,Civil and Structural Engineering
Reference46 articles.
1. Aiuppa, A., D'Alessandro, W., Federico, C., Palumbo, B., and Valenza, M.: The aquatic geochemistry of arsenic in volcanic groundwaters from southern Italy, Appl. Geochem., 18(9), 1283–1296, 2003. 2. Appleyard, S. J., Angeloni, J., and Watkins, R.: Arsenic-rich groundwater in an urban area experiencing drought and increasing population density, Perth, Australia, Appl. Geochem., 21(1), 83–97, 2006. 3. Armienta, M. A. and Segovia, N.: Arsenic and fluoride in the groundwater of Mexico, Environ. Geochem. Hlth., 30(4), 345–353, 2008. 4. Banerjee, K., Amy, G. L., Prevost, M., Nourc, S., Jekel, M., Gallagher, P. M., and Blumenscheine, C. D.: Kinetic and thermodynamic aspects of adsorption of arsenic onto granular ferric hydroxide (GFH), Water Res., 42, 3371–3378, 2008. 5. Borba, R. P., Figueiredo, B. R., and Matschullat, J.: Geochemical distribution of arsenic in waters, sediments and weathered gold mineralized rocks from Iron Quadrangle, Brazil, Environ. Geol., 44(1), 39–52, 2003.
Cited by
123 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献
|
|