Arsenic pollution in groundwater from Hetao Area, China

Abstract

Hetao Area, China is a district where arsenic concentrations in drinking water are elevated. The 180,000 people that inhabit the 6,100 km2 of the seven counties in the area show symptoms of arsenic poisoning. In this paper, the distribution and origin of arsenic in groundwater were studied. The results demonstrate that the affected district boundaries encompass an area with high contents of As in well water, which the local inhabitants drink and use in daily life. This district is labeled as a population pathological change area. The isotope ratios of 87Sr/86Sr (0.7100–0.7164), 206Pb/204Pb (18.3817–19.1871), and 207Pb/204Pb (15.7581–15.9578) in groundwater of the population pathological change area are close to the ratios measured in water from mine areas (87Sr/86Sr=0.7196, 206Pb/204Pb=19.1940, 207Pb/204Pb=15.9574), and are somewhat close to ratios in Yellow River, water which is used to irrigating in Hetao Area (87Sr/86Sr=0.7168, 206Pb/204Pb=18.3495, 207Pb/204Pb=15.5969). The average content of As in the drinking water is as high as four times more than the environmental standard of As in drinking water. The study suggests that the origin of the As in groundwater of the population pathological change area in Hetao Area is transported from higher elevations where mineral deposits exist. Mining of some of the deposits has occurred for a long time. Mining practices can result in release of toxic elements, which can then be transported from the mining district down gradient.