Arsenic in groundwater: Testing pollution mechanisms for sedimentary aquifers in Bangladesh
Open accessAbstract
In the deltaic plain of the Ganges‐Meghna‐Brahmaputra Rivers, arsenic concentrations in groundwater commonly exceed regulatory limits (>50 µg L −1 ) because FeOOH is microbially reduced and releases its sorbed load of arsenic to groundwater. Neither pyrite oxidation nor competitive exchange with fertilizer phosphate contribute to arsenic pollution. The most intense reduction and so severest pollution is driven by microbial degradation of buried deposits of peat. Concentrations of ammonium up to 23 mg L −1 come from microbial fermentation of buried peat and organic waste in latrines. Concentrations of phosphorus of up to 5 mg L −1 come from the release of sorbed phosphorus when FeOOH is reductively dissolved and from degradation of peat and organic waste from latrines. Calcium and barium in groundwater come from dissolution of detrital (and possibly pedogenic) carbonate, while magnesium is supplied by both carbonate dissolution and weathering of mica. The 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values of dissolved strontium define a two‐component mixing trend between monsoonal rainfall (0.711±0.001) and detrital carbonate (<0.735).
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- Authors
- McArthur, J. M., Ravenscroft, P., Safiulla, S., & Thirlwall, M. F.
- Affiliations
- University College London (GB)
- Venue
- Water Resources Research
- Publisher
- American Geophysical Union (AGU)
- Published
- 2001-01
- Volume
- 37
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 109-117
- ISSN
- 0043-1397 (ISSN-L)
- 1944-7973
- OpenAlex
- W2116105765
- Cited by
- 908
- References
- 53
- Citations by year
- 2026: 14 · 2025: 18 · 2024: 31 · 2023: 22 · 2022: 46 · 2021: 34 · 2020: 42 · 2019: 43 · 2018: 42 · 2017: 33 · 2016: 44 · 2015: 49 · 2014: 42 · 2013: 35 · 2012: 40
- FWCI
- 21.02
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Water Resources Research (publishedVersion)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Arsenic contamination and mitigation
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Geochemistry and Petrology › Geochemistry and Elemental Analysis
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Geochemistry and Petrology › Groundwater and Isotope Geochemistry
- Keywords
- arsenic contamination, groundwater contamination, sedimentary aquifers, iron oxyhydroxide reduction, ammonium, phosphate adsorption, strontium isotopes, carbonate dissolution, mica weathering, latrines, Bangladesh
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