Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Speciation of As(III) and As(V) in water and sediment using reverse-phase ion-pair high-performance liquid chromatography-neutron activation analysis (HPLC-NAA)

  • Published:
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Total As content and the As species distribution in water and sediments from the Kwabrafo stream, a major water body draining the Obuasi gold mining community in southwestern Ghana, have been investigated. Total As content was determined by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). Ion-pair reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatography-neutron activation analysis (HPLC-NAA) was used for speciation of As species. Solid phase extraction with phosphate buffer was used to extract soluble As species from lyophilized sediment. The mass balance after phosphate extraction of soluble As species in sediment varied from 89 to 96 %. Compositionally appropriate reference material International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)-Lake Sediment (SL)-1 was used to check the validity of INAA method for total As determination. The measured values are in good agreement with the IAEA recommended value and also within the 95 % confidence interval. The accuracy of the measurement in terms of relative deviation from the IAEA recommended value was ±0.83 %. “In-house” prepared As(III) and As(V) standards were used to validate the HPLC-INAA method used for the As species determination. Total As concentration in the water samples ranged from 1.15 to 9.20 mg/L. As(III) species in water varied from 0.13 to 0.7 mg/L, while As(V) species varied from 0.79 to 3.85 mg/L. Total As content in sediment ranged from 2,134 to 3,596 mg/kg dry mass. The levels of As(III) and As(V) species in the sediment ranges from 138 to 506 mg/kg dry mass and 156 to 385 mg/kg dry mass, respectively.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adotey, D. K., Stibilj, V., Serfor-Armah, Y., Nyarko, B. J. B., & Jacimovic, R. (2011). Dietary supply of selenium for adolescents in three residential care orphanages in southern Ghana. Science of the Total Environment, 410, 72–79.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Affum, A. O., & Gyan, B. (2011). Assessing the suitability and efficiency of high performance liquid chromatography instrument—a new approach. International Journal of Chemical Sciences, 9(4), 531–563.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ahmad, K., & Carboo, D. (2000). Speciation of As (III) and As (V) in some Ghanaian gold tailings by a simple distillation method. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 122, 317–326.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Akabzaa, T. M., Banoneng-Yakubo, B. K., & Seyire, J. S. (2007). Impact of mining activities on water resources in the vicinity of the Obuasi mine. West African Journal Appalications Ecological, 11, 101–109.

    Google Scholar 

  • Amasa, S. K. (1975). Arsenic pollution at Obuasi goldmine towns and surrounding countryside. Environment Health Perspective, 12, 131–135.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Amonoo-Neizer, E. H., Nyamah, D., & Bakiamoh, S. B. (1995). Mercury and arsenic pollution in soil and biological samples around the mining town of Obuasi, Ghana. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 91, 363–373.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Antwi-Agyei, P., Hogarh, J. N., & Foli, G. (2009). Trace elements contamination of soils around gold mine tailings dams at Obuasi. Ghana. African Journal Environment Science Technology, 3(11), 353–359.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Asiam, E. K. (1996). Environmental assessment of gold beneficiation: arsenic audit and impact on the Obuasi environs. Ghana Mining Journal, 2(1), 17–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • B’Hymer, C., & Caruso, J. A. (2006). Selenium speciation analysis using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Journal Chromatography A, 1114, 1–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bruce, S. L., Noller, B. N., Grigg, A. H., Mullen, B. F., Mulligan, D. R., Ritchie, P. J., et al. (2003). A field study conducted at Kidston Gold Mine, to evaluate the impact of arsenic and zinc from mine tailing to grazing cattle. Toxicology Letters, 137, 23–34.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cai, Y., & Braids, O. C. (Eds.). (2003). Biogeochemistry of environmentally important trace elements ACS symposium Series 835. Washington DC: American Chemical Society.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caruso, J. A. & Montes-Bayon, M. (2003). Elemental speciation studies, new directions for trace metals analysis. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 56, 148–164

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, R., Benjamin, S. W., James, W. D., Mike, T. S., Kertulis, G., & Lena, M. Q. (2004). Arsenic speciation in Chinese brake fern by ion-pair high performance liquid chromatography-inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy. Analytica Chimica Acta, 504, 207.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Mello, J. W. V., Talbott, J. L., Scott, J., Roy, W. R., & Stucki, J. W. (2007). Environmental Science Pollution Research, 14(6), 388–396.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De-corte, F., (1987). The k 0-standardization method, a move to the optimization of NAA. Habil. Thesis, University Gent.

  • Donkor, A. K., Bonzongo, J. C., Nartey, V. K., & Adotey, D. K. (2005). Heavy metals in sediments of the gold mining impacted Pra River Basin, Ghana, West Africa. Soil and Sediment Contamination, 14, 479–503.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Donkor, A. K., Bonzongo, J. C., Nartey, V. K., & Adotey, D. K. (2006). Mercury in different environmental compartments of the Pra River Basin, Ghana. Science Total Environment, 368, 164–176.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Georgiadis, M., Cai, Y., & Solo-Gabriele, H. M. (2006). Extraction of arsenate and arsenite species from soils and sediments. Environment Pollution, 141, 22–29.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Guerin, T., Astruc, A., & Astruc, M. (1999). Speciation of arsenic and selenium compounds by HPLC hyphenated to specific detectors: a review of the main separation techniques. Talanta, 50, 1–24.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Khalid, A., Senu, J. K., Nartey, V. K., & Carboo, D. (2005). Speciation of As(III), As(V), monomethyl arsonate and dimethyl arsinate in river sediments using a combined cation-anion chromatography and analysis by neutron activation analysis. Technical and working report of the Department of Chemistry. Ghana: Ghana Atomic Energy Commission.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, J. Y., Kim, K. W., Lee, J. U., Lee, J. S., & Cook, J. (2002). Assessment of As and heavy metal concentration in the vicinity of Duckum Au-Ag mine. Korea. Environment Geochemistry Health, 24, 215–227.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kumi-Boateng B. (2007). Assessing the spatial distribution of arsenic concentration from goldmine for environmental management at Obuasi, Ghana. MSc. thesis. Int. Institut for Geo-Info. Sci. Earth Observation, Enschede, The Netherlands.

  • Loeppert, R. H., Jain, A., El-Haleem, M. A. A., Biswas, B. K., (2002). Quantity and speciation of arsenic in soils by chemical extraction. In: Cai, Y., Braids, O.C., (eds.). Biogeochemistry of environmentally important trace elements ACS Symposium Series 835. American Chemical Society, pp. 436.

  • Mahapatra, S., Tripathi, R. M., Raghunath, R., & Sadasivan, S. (2001). Daily intake of selenium by adult population of Mumbai. India. Science Total Environment, 277, 217–223.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Manning, B. A., & Martens, D. A. (1997). Speciation of As(III) and As(V) in sediment extracts by high-performance liquid chromatography-hydride generation atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Environment Science Techlogy, 31, 171–177.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nude, P. M., Foli, G., & Yidana, M. (2011). Geochemical assessment of impact of mine spoils on the quality of stream sediments within the Obuasi mines environment. Ghana Integrated Journal Geoscience, 2, 259–266.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nyarko, B. J. B., Serfor-Armah, Y., Akaho, E. H. K., Adomako, D., & Osae, S. (2004). Determination of heavy metal pollution levels in lichen at Obuasi gold mining area in Ghana. Journal of Applied Science and Technology, 9(1, 2), 28–33.

    Google Scholar 

  • Obuasi Municipality (2009). Obuasi. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wikipedia.org/wiki/obuasi. Assessed in September, 2011.

  • Olga, S. V., Olga, K. N., Beisel, F., (2001). As speciation in waters using Graphite furnance atomic absorption spectrometry as detector. Analytical Sciences, 17, 179–181.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rattanachongkiat, S., Millward, G. E., & Foulkes, M. E. (2004). Determination of arsenic species in fish, crustacean and sediment samples from Thailand using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with inductively coupled with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Journal Environment Monitoring, 6, 254–261.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Richard, S., Soeroes, C., Ipolyi, I., Fofor, P., & Nikolaos, T. S. (2005). Determination of arsenic species in seafood samples from the Aegean sea by liquid chromatography-(photo-oxidation)-hydride generation-atomic fluorescence spectrometry. Analytica Chimica Acta, 547, 109–118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Serfor-Armah, Y., Nyarko, B. J. B., Adotey, D. K., Adomako, D., & Akaho, E. H. K. (2004). The impact of small-scale mining activities on the levels of mercury in the environment: the case of Prestea and its environs. Journal Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 262(3), 685–690.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Serfor-Armah, Y., Nyarko, B. J. B., Adotey, D. K., Dampare, S. B., & Adomako, D. (2006). Levels of arsenic and antimony in water and sediment from Prestea, a gold mining town in Ghana, and its environ. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 175, 181–192.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Smedley, P. L., Edmund, W. M., & Pelig-Ba, K. B. (1996). Mobility of arsenic in groundwater in the Obuasi area of Ghana (pp. 163–181). London: Geo. Soc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, D. (1964). Neutron irradiation and activation analysis. London, Britain: Newnes. 57.

    Google Scholar 

  • USEPA (1996). Sampling ambient water for trace metal at EPA water quality criteria levels (USEPA Method 1669). United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), Office of Water, Washington DC 20460.

  • Vassileva, E., Docekalova, H., Baeten, H., Vanhentenrijk, S., & Hoenig, M. (2001). Revisitation of mineralization modes for arsenic and selenium determinations in environmental samples. Talanta, 54, 187–196.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Youqing, S., Acharya, R., & Chatt, A. (2004). Speciation of arsenic in natural waters by HPLC-NAA. Journal Radioanalytical Chemistry, 262(1), 277–286.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thankfully acknowledge Messers Ekow Quagraine and Nick Opata, the technologists at the National Nuclear Research Institute of Ghana for their contribution during preparation, irradiations and counting of samples. We also thank Mr. Khalid Ahmed for his assistance during the sampling.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Nuclear and Allied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana

    Delali Tulasi, Dennis Adotey & Yaw Serfor-Armah

  2. Department of Chemistry, University of Ghana, P.O. Box LG 56, Legon, Accra, Ghana

    Derick Carboo

  3. Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, National Nuclear Research Institute, P.O. Box LG 80, Legon, Accra, Ghana

    Dennis Adotey, Andrews Affum & Yaw Serfor-Armah

Authors
  1. Delali Tulasi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Dennis Adotey
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Andrews Affum
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Derick Carboo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Yaw Serfor-Armah
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yaw Serfor-Armah.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Tulasi, D., Adotey, D., Affum, A. et al. Speciation of As(III) and As(V) in water and sediment using reverse-phase ion-pair high-performance liquid chromatography-neutron activation analysis (HPLC-NAA). Environ Monit Assess 185, 7979–7991 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-013-3148-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-013-3148-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation