Portable X-ray Fluorescence (PXRF) Analysis of Total Metal(loid)s and Sequential Extraction of Bioavailable Arsenic in Agricultural Soils of Animas Watershed

Abstract

The Animas River provides irrigation water in northwestern New Mexico and the Navajo Nation. Concerns regarding the river water quality arose on August 5, 2015, when approximately 11.35 million liters of heavy metal contaminated water was accidentally released from the Gold King Mine into the Animas River. This study sought to determine the total concentrations of 7 heavy metal(loid)s (As, Pb, and Zn as metals of concern and Fe, Mn, Ca, and Cu as metals of interest) using portable X-ray fluorescence (PXRF) in two agricultural fields and compare these values to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regional screening levels (RSL). Total concentrations of 6 out of 7 metals were below the RSL; only As exceeded the soil screening value of 7.07 mg kg−1 at some locations in the agricultural fields. We also determined water-soluble (WS) and exchangeable fractions (Ex) of As that might be available for agricultural crop uptake using sequential extractions. The WS-As ranged from 0.014 to 0.074 mg kg−1 and Ex-As ranged from 0.135 to 0.248 mg kg−1 and thus were less than 1 and 3% of the total As concentration respectively (ranging from 5.62 to 14.79 mg kg−1) and not considered a threat for plant tissue accumulation. While the concentrations of As observed in the agricultural fields may have exceeded screening levels, the As was not apparently plant available and its risk to crops was determined to be low.