Abstract
Chronic exposure to groundwater containing elevated concentrations of geogenic contaminants such as arsenic (As) and uranium (U) can lead to detrimental health impacts. In this study, we have undertaken a groundwater survey of representative sites across all districts of the State of Bihar, in the Middle Gangetic Plain of north-eastern India. The aim is to characterize the inorganic major and trace element aqueous geochemistry in groundwater sources widely used for drinking in Bihar, with a particular focus on the spatial distribution and associated geochemical controls on groundwater As and U. Concentrations of As and U are highly heterogeneous across Bihar, exceeding (provisional) guideline values in ~16% and 7% of samples (n = 273), respectively. The strongly inverse correlation between As and U is consistent with the contrasting redox controls on As and U mobility. High As is associated with Fe, Mn, lower Eh and is depth-dependent; in contrast, high U is associated with HCO3−, NO3− and higher Eh. The improved understanding of the distribution and geochemical controls on As and U in Bihar has important implications on remediation priorities and selection, and may contribute to informing further monitoring and/or representative characterization efforts in Bihar and elsewhere in India.
Highlights
Elevated concentrations of naturally occurring As and U in groundwater present a major environmental and public health challenge globally
In some cases, our sampling included some sites of expected high As, which may bias some of the results reported for those districts
In this study we characterize the inorganic major and trace element geochemistry in groundwater sources typically used for drinking across all districts of Bihar, India, with a particular focus on As, U and associated parameters
Summary
Elevated concentrations of naturally occurring As and U in groundwater present a major environmental and public health challenge globally. Groundwaters within the major floodplains and deltas in South/Southeast (S/SE) Asia, as well as elsewhere across the world, can naturally contain dangerous concentrations of As [1,2,3,4,5] exceeding the World Health Organization (WHO) provisional guideline value of 0.13 μM (10 μg.L−1 ) [4]. In 2007, a largescale study of ~67,000 water sources reported elevated As in 11 districts of
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