One century of arsenic exposure in Latin America: A review of history and occurrence from 14 countries

J. BUNDSCHUH; M.I. LITTER; F. PARVEZ; G. ROMÁN-ROSS; H.B. NICOLLI; J.-S. JEAN; C.-W. LIU; D. LÓPEZ; M.A. ARMIENTA; A. GOMEZ CUEVAS; L. CORNEJO; L. CUMBAL; L.R.G. GUILHERME; R. TOUJAGUEZ

SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT

Elsevier

Año: 2012 vol. 429 p. 2 - 35

0048-9697

An increasing number of countries worldwide with high arsenic (As) concentrations in drinking water of mostly geogenic origin, highlights the global impact on public health of elevated As in water supplies. In Latin America, the problem of As contamination in groundwater and to a lesser extent in surface water is known in 14 out of 20 countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru and Uruguay. Although investigations in northern Chile showed that the impact of chronic arsenicosis has affected human populations as early as 7000 years, and health effects of As exposure were identified in the 1910s from Bellville (Córdoba province, Argentina), yet contamination of As in waters has been detected for the first time in 10 Latin American countries only within the last 10 to 15 years. In addition, every year, high As levels are being detected in new countries and areas. However, much important information is not available on peer review journals and restricted to unpublished reports or internal classified information.                 In Latin America, As is mobilized predominantly from Tertiary to recent volcanic rocks and their weathering products, contaminating groundwater and surface water on site or even hundreds of kilometres from its primary source. In the case of the endorheic areas of the Andean highlands in Argentina, Bolivia and Peru, As remains in the region where it accumulates in the hydrosphere and pedosphere; in cases where the rivers originate in the Andean mountains, As is transported to more densely populated areas in the lowlands (e.g. Rímac River in Peru, Pilcomayo river in Bolivia/Argentina/Paraguay). As-rich groundwater recharged in the Andes, feeding rivers at their foothills explains the high As concentrations in surface waters of the Atacama desert in northern Chile. Arsenic-rich geothermal waters discharging into freshwater aquifers or surface waters is frequent at or close to the Andean range in Central and South America and in many Mexican sites.