Arsenic mobilization in the unsaturated zone

DIETRICH, SEBASTIÁN; ESTER TORRES; AYORA, CARLOS; WEINZETTEL, PABLO

One Century of the Discovery of Arsenicosis in Latin America (1914-2014) - As2014: Proceedings of the 5th International Congress on Arsenic in the Environment May 11-16, 2014, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Balkema

Lugar: Buenos Aires; Año: 2014; p. 93 - 94

This work presents the results of laboratory experiments carried out on unsaturated zone samples obtained fromthe Azul creek basin, Buenos Aires province, Argentina. The objective of the experiments was to determine the arsenic (As)distribution in the different mineral phases along the soil profile. Lixiviation experiments were performed to detect those zones withhigher As concentration in the solids. Then, a sequential extraction procedure was accomplished to determine the retention of As inthe different mineral phases of the sediments. The lixiviation experiments showed a more As-enriched upper part of the soil profileand that As concentration decreased with depth. The sequential extraction procedure revealed that zones with higher Asconcentration are related to desorption from Fe(III) oxide and hydroxides.