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Arsenic fixation on iron-hydroxide-rich and plant litter-containing sediments in natural environments

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Environmental Geology

Abstract

Iron-hydroxide-rich and plant litter-containing sediments from natural sites contaminated with uranium mine tailing leachates were examined for their ability to adsorb arsenic. The samples with high contents of iron hydroxides (Fetotal concentration, >300 g kg−1) exhibited remarkable fixation of arsenic (up to 40 g As kg−1). This value corresponded approximately to the supersaturation point for natural iron hydroxides under the present conditions, and it was significantly lower than the value found for synthetic iron hydroxides. There was a strong correlation (R=0.8999) between the concentration of iron and that of arsenic at low arsenic contents, indicating adsorption on strong binding sites. Although all the samples had noticeable contents of organic carbon (plant litter), calcium, and manganese, no obvious effect of these elements on arsenic fixation could be detected. The amount of iron hydroxides was found the only fixation-controlling parameter immediately below a leaching water source.

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Acknowledgment

We appreciate the help of Karin Klinzmann and Arndt Weiske during the laboratory work and Dmitry Tychinin for his instant help in writing this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lehrstuhl für Bodenkunde, Department für Ökologie, Wissenschaftszentrum Weihenstephan, Technische Universität München, 85350, Freising-Weihenstephan, Germany

    Andreas Fritzsche

  2. Institut für Allgemeine Ökologie und Umweltschutz, Technische Universität Dresden, 01735, Tharandt, Germany

    Holger Dienemann & Ernst Gert Dudel

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  1. Andreas Fritzsche
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  2. Holger Dienemann
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  3. Ernst Gert Dudel
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Correspondence to Andreas Fritzsche.

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Fritzsche, A., Dienemann, H. & Dudel, E.G. Arsenic fixation on iron-hydroxide-rich and plant litter-containing sediments in natural environments. Environ Geol 51, 133–142 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-006-0315-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-006-0315-0

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