Abstract
This study focused on the entire Hetao Basin, which can fall into four hydrogeological units, the Houtao Plain, Sanhuhe Plain, Hubao Plain, and South Bank Plain of the Yellow River, all of which are under different geological and environmental conditions. To systematically investigate the hydrochemical characteristics and spatial distribution of high-As groundwater (As > 10 μg/L), 974 samples were collected from shallow groundwater. As indicated from the results, high-As groundwater had an extensive distribution, and its spatial distribution in the four hydrogeological units exhibited significant variability. Three concentrated distribution areas were reported with high-As groundwater, which were all in the discharge areas of groundwater, and the arsenic contents in the groundwater were found to exceed 50 μg/L. The hydrochemical types of high-As groundwater in the HT Plain and the SHH Plain consisted of HCO3 SO4·Cl for anions and Na for cations, while those in the other two plains included HCO3 for anions as well as Na·Mg·Ca for cations. According to the pH values, the groundwater was weakly alkaline in the areas with high-As groundwater, and arsenic primarily existed as arsenite. Furthermore, high-As groundwater in the Hetao Basin was characterized by high contents of Fe (mean value of 2.77 mg/L) and HCO3− (mean value of 460 mg/L) and a low relative concentration of SO42− (average value of 310 mg/L). This study did not identify any significant correlation between groundwater arsenic and other ions (e.g., Fe2+, Fe3+, HCO3−, SO42−, NO2− and NO3−) in the entire Hetao Basin over a wide range of hydrogeological units. The results remained unchanged after the four hydrogeological units were analyzed. The special sedimentary environment evolution of the Hetao Basin was found as the prerequisite for the formation of high-arsenic groundwater. Furthermore, groundwater runoff conditions and hydrogeochemical processes in the basin were indicated as the factors controlling the formation of high-arsenic groundwater.
Highlights
High As groundwater has been reported as one of the most serious geological environmental issues facing the international community [1,2]
This study focused on the entire Hetao Basin, which fell into four hydrogeological units under the different geological and environmental conditions
The high-As groundwater was extensively distributed in the four hydrogeological units, and it achieved the widest distribution in the HT Plain
Summary
High As groundwater has been reported as one of the most serious geological environmental issues facing the international community [1,2]. Drinking contaminated water such as high-As groundwater can directly jeopardize human health [3,4,5,6,7,8], which has aroused great interest from a wide range of organizations in the international community and numerous national government agencies [9,10]. As occurs as a major constituent in more than 200 minerals, and the desorption and dissolution of naturally occurring As-bearing minerals are generally considered the principal source of As contamination in groundwater [21,22]. Other secondary As minerals (e.g., scorodite, FeAsO4 2H2 O) can contain the pollutant as a main or trace component [24,25]
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