Abstract
In this study, the concentrations of arsenic were determined in the soils around old coal-ash pond. The soils in the study area were severely contaminated with arsenic after dam failure of the coal-ash pond. The mean concentrations of arsenic in soils collected from three sampling depths of 0–20, 20–40 and >40 cm were 173, 155 and 426 μg/g, respectively, exceeding greatly the Dutch intervention threshold for this element. Arsenic concentrations were positively correlated with total iron and aluminium contents in the soils (r = 0.73, p < 0.001 and r = 0.72, p < 0.001, respectively), indicating that oxyhydroxides of iron and aluminium may control the distribution of arsenic in these soils. Ammonium nitrate extractant was used to mimic availability of arsenic for plant uptake from the soils. Between 0.05 and 6.21% of the total soil arsenic were extracted using a single extraction test and a significant positive correlation between soil leachate pH and arsenic extractability (r = 0.70, p < 0.01) was observed. This suggested that soil pH might play a role in the bioavailability of arsenic.
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Acknowledgments
This study was financially supported by the Slovak Grant Agency, project VEGA No. 1/0312/08 and the Slovak Research and Development Agency under the contract No. APVV-VVCE-0033-07 “Scientific and Educational Centre of Excellence for Solid Phase Research Focused on Nanomaterials, Environmental Mineralogy and Material Technology (Centrum of excellence APVV-SOLIPHA)”. We thank Ray Marshall for checking the English language of the manuscript.
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Jurkovič, L., Hiller, E., Veselská, V. et al. Arsenic Concentrations in Soils Impacted by Dam Failure of Coal-Ash Pond in Zemianske Kostolany, Slovakia. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 86, 433–437 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-011-0222-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-011-0222-2