Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Arsenic and trace metals in river water and sediments from the southeast portion of the Iron Quadrangle, Brazil

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

Abstract

The Iron Quadrangle has been one of the most important gold production regions in Brazil since the end of the seventeenth century. There, arsenic occurs in close association with sulfide-rich auriferous rocks. The most abundant sulfide minerals are pyrite and arsenopyrite, yet trace metal sulfides occur in subordinate phases as well. Historical mining activities have been responsible for the release of As and trace metals to both aquatic and terrestrial environments close to mining sites in the region. Therefore, this study was aimed to evaluate the distribution and mobility of As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn in streams in the southeast portion of the Iron Quadrangle between the municipalities of Ouro Preto and Mariana, the oldest Brazilian Au mining province. Total concentrations of some trace metals and arsenic in water were determined. The four-stage sequential extraction procedure proposed by the commission of the European Communities Bureau of Reference (BCR) was used to investigate the distribution of these elements in stream sediments. Arsenic concentration in water was >10 μg L − 1 (maximum limit permitted by Brazilian environmental regulations for water destined for human consumption) at all sampling sites, varying between 36.7 and 68.3 μg L − 1. Sequential extraction in sediments showed high concentrations of As and trace metals associated with easily mobilized fractions.

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

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Basílio, M. S., Friese, K., Lena, J. C., Nalini Júnior, H. A., & Roeser, H. M. P. (2005). Adsorption of As, Cu, Pb and Cr for the assessment of metal retention by two different residues from iron ore mines. Química Nova, 28, 822–828.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Borba, R. P., Figueiredo, B. R., & Matschullat, J. (2003). Geochemical distribution of arsenic in waters, sediments and weathered gold mineralized rocks from Iron Quadrangle, Brazil. Environmental Geology, 44, 39–52.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cidu, R., Biddau, R., & Fanfani, L. (2009). Impact of past mining activity on the quality of groundwater in SW Sardinia (Italy). Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 100, 125–132.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • CONAMA—Conselho Nacional do Meio Ambiente (2005). Resolução No. 357. Brasil: Ministério do Desenvolvimento Urbano e Meio Ambiente, Brasília.

  • Craw, D., Falconer, D., & Youngson, J. H. (2003). Environmental arsenopyrite stability and dissolution: Theory, experiment and field observations. Chemical Geology, 199, 71–82.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Davidson, C. M., Thomas, R. P., McVey, S. E., Littlejohn, D. & Ure, A. M. (1994). Evaluation of a sequential extraction procedure for the speciation of heavy metals in sediments. Analitica Chimica Acta, 291, 277–286.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Davidson, C. M., Duncan, A. L., Littlejohn, D., Ure, A. M. & Garden, L. M. (1998). A critical evaluation of the three-stage BCR sequential extraction procedure to assess the potential mobility and toxicity of heavy metals in industrially contaminated land. Analitica Chimica Acta, 363, 45–55.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Deschamps, E., & Matschullat, J. (2007). Arsênio antropogênico e natural: um estudo em regiões do Quadrilátero Ferrífero (p. 330). Belo Horizonte: FEMA.

  • Deschamps, E., Cimineli, V. S. T., Lange, F. T., Matschullat, J., Raue, B., & Schmidt, H. (2002). Soil and sediment geochemistry of the Iron Quadrangle, Brazil: The case of arsenic. Journal of Soils and Sediments, 2, 216–222.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Deschamps, E., Carneiro, M. E. D. P., Ciminelli, V. S. T., Peter, W. & Ramos, A. (2003). Arsenic sorption onto soils enriched in Mn and Fe minerals. Clays and Clay Minerals, 51, 198–205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dhoum, R. T., & Evans, G. J. (1998). Evaluation of uranium and arsenic retention by soil from a low-level radioactive waste management site, using sequential extraction. Applied Geochemistry, 13, 415–420.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • EMBRAPA (1997). Manual de métodos de análise do solo. Rio de Janeiro: Centro Nacional de Pesquisa de Solos.

  • Figueiredo, M. A., Varajão, A. F. D. C., Fabris, J. D., Loutfi, I. F., & Carvalho, A. P. (2004). Superficial alteration and pedogeomorphology in the south of the Bação Complex–Quadrilátero Ferrífero–MG, Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Ciências do Solo, 28, 713–729.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Filgueiras, A. V., Lavilla, I., & Bendicho, C. (2004). Chemical sequential extraction for metal partitioning in environmental solid samples. Journal of Environmental Monitoring, 4, 823–857.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fontes, M. P. F., & Gomes, P. C. (2003). Simultaneous competitive adsorption of heavy metals by the mineral matrix of tropical soils. Applied Geochemistry, 18, 795–804.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Giménez, J., Martínez, M., Pablo, J., Rovira, M., & Duro, L. (2007). Arsenic sorption onto natural hematite, magnetite and goethite. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 141, 575–580.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gismera, M. J., Lacal, J., Silva, P., Garcia, R., Sevilla, M. T., & Procópio, J. R. (2004). Study of metal fractionation in river sediments. A comparison between kinetic and sequential extraction procedures. Environmental Pollution, 127, 175–182.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gleyzes, C., Tellier, S., & Astruc, M. (2002). Fractionation studies of trace elements in contaminated soils and sediments: A review of sequential extraction procedures. Trends in Analytical Chemistry, 21, 451–467.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gomes, P. C., Fontes, M. P. F., Silva, A. G., Mendonça, E. S., & Rodrigues Netto, A. (2001). Selectivity sequence and competitive adsorption of heavy metals by Brazilian soils. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 65, 1115–1121.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gonçalves, J. A. C., Lena, J. C., Paiva, J. F., Nalini, H. A. Jr., & Pereira, J. C. (2007). Arsenic in the groundwater of Ouro Preto (Brazil): Its temporal behavior as influenced by hydric regime and hydrology. Environmental Geology, 53, 785–794.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jain, C. K., Gupta, H., & Chakrapani, G. J. (2008). Enrichment and fractionation of heavy metals in bed sediments of River Narmada, India. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 14, 35–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kumaresan, M., & Riyazuddin, P. (2001). Overview of speciation chemistry of arsenic. Current Science, 80, 837–846.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lakshmipathiraj, P., Narasimhan, B. R. V., Prabhakar, S., & Raju, G. B. (2006). Adsorption studies of arsenic on Mn-substituted iron oxyhydroxide. Journal of Colloids and Interface Science, 304, 317–322.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Long, G. L., & Winefordner, J. D. (1983). Limit of detection. A closer look at the IUPAC definition. Analytical Chemistry, 55, 712–724.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marguí, E., Salvadó, V., Queralt, I., & Hidalgo, M. (2004). Comparison of three-stage sequential extraction and toxicity characteristic leaching test to evaluate metal mobility in mining wastes. Analitica Chimica Acta, 524, 151–159.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matschullat, J., Borba, R. P., Deschamps, E., Figueiredo, B. R., Gabrio, T., & Schwenk, M. (2000). Human and environmental contamination in the Iron Quadrangle, Brazil. Applied Geochemistry, 15, 193–202.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mello, J. W. V., Roy, W. R., Talbott, J. L. & Stucki, J. W. (2006). Mineralogy and arsenic mobility in arsenic-rich Brazilian soils and sediments. Journal of Soils and Sediments, 6, 9–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mello, J. W. V., Talbott, J. L., Scott, J., Roy, W. R., & Stucki, J. W. (2007). Arsenic speciation in arsenic-rich Brazilian soils from gold mining sites under anaerobic incubation. Environmental Science Pollution Research, 14, 388–396.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oliveira, F. R. (1998). Contribuicão ao estudo da geologia estrutural e da gênese do depósito aurífero de Passagem de Mariana-MG. M.Sc. Thesis, Unicamp, São Paulo.

  • Pereira, J. C., Guimarães-Silva, A. K., Nalini, H. A. Jr., Pacheco-Silva, E., & Lena, J. C. (2007). Distribution, fractionation and mobility of trace elements in stream sediments. Química Nova, 30, 1249–1255.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pertsemli, E., & Voutsa, D. (2007). Distribution of heavy metals in lakes Doirani and Kerkini, Northen Greece. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 148, 529–537.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pueyo, M., Sastre, J., Hernández, E., Vidal, M., López-Sanchez, J. F., & Rauret, G. J. (2003). Prediction of trace element mobility in contaminated soils by sequential extraction. Journal of Environmental Quality, 32, 2054–2066.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Raposo, J. C., Zuloaga, O., Sanz, J., Villanueva, U., Crea, P., Extrebaria, N., et al. (2006). Analytical and thermodynamical approach to understand the mobility retention of arsenic species from river to estuary. Marine Chemistry, 99, 42–51.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rauret, G., López-Sanchez, J. F., Sahuquillo, A., Rubio, R., Davidson, C., Ure, A., et al. (1999). Improvement of the BCR three-step sequential extraction procedure prior to the certification of new sediment and soil reference materials. Journal of Environmental Monitoring, 1, 57–61.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rimstidt, J. D., & Vaughan, D. J. (2003). Pyrite oxidation: A state-of-the-art assessment of the reaction mechanism. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 67, 873–880.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Smedley, P. L., & Kinniburgh, D. G. (2002). A review of the source, behavior and distribution of arsenic in natural waters. Applied Geochemistry, 17, 517–568.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sracek, O., Bhattacharya, P., Jacks, G., Gustafsson, J.-P., & Von Brömssen, M. (2004). Behavior of arsenic and geochemical modeling of arsenic enrichment in aqueous environments. Applied Geochemistry, 19, 169–180.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Templeton, D. M., Ariese, F., Cdornelis, R., Danielsson, L. G., Muntau, H., Van Leeuwen, H. P., et al. (2000). Guidelines for terms related to chemical speciation and fractionation of elements. Definitions, structural aspects, and methodological approaches. Pure and Applied Chemistry, 72, 1453–1470.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Terlecka, E. (2005). Arsenic speciation analysis in water samples: A review of the hyphenated techniques. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 107, 259–284.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tessier, A., Campbell, P. G. C., & Bisson, M. (1979). Sequential extraction procedure for the speciation of particulate trace metals. Analytical Chemistry, 51, 844–851.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, J. E., Smart, R. S. C., & Skinner, W. M. (2000). Kinetic factors for oxidative and non-oxidative dissolution of iron sulfides. Minerals Engineering, 13, 1149–1159.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tokalioglu, S., Kartal, S., & Elçi, L. (2000). Determination of heavy metal and their speciation in lake sediments by flame atomic absorption spectrometry after a four-stage sequential extraction procedure. Analitica Chimica Acta, 413, 33–40.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ure, A. M., Quevauviller, Ph., Muntau, H., & Griepink, B. (1993). Speciation of heavy metals in soils and sediments. An account of the improvement and harmonization of extraction techniques under the auspices of the BCR of the Commission of the European Communities. International Journal of Environmental Analytical Chemistry, 51, 133–151.

    Google Scholar 

  • Varejão, E. V. V., Bellato, C. R., & Fontes, M. P. F. (2009a). Mercury fractionation in stream sediments from the Quadrilátero Ferrífero gold mining region, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 157, 125–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Varejão, E. V. V., Bellato, C. R., Mello, J. W. V. & Fontes, M. P. F. (2009b). Optimization of pre-reduction conditionof As(V) in BCR extracts to quantify arsenic by Hg-AAS. Revista Brasileira de Ciência do Solo, 33, 875–883.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Veado, M. A. R. V., Arantes, I. A., Oliveira, A. H., Almeida, M. R. M. G., Miguel, R. A., Severo, M. I., et al. (2006). Metal pollution in the environment of Minas Gerais State–Brazil. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 117, 157–172.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vial, D. S. (1988). Mina de ouro de Cuiabá, QF, Minas Gerais. In: C. Schobbenhaus & C. E. S. Coelho (Eds.), Principais depósitos minerais do Brasil (Vol. 3, pp. 413–419). DNPM/CVRD, Brazil.

  • Vial, D. S., Duarte, B. P., Fuzikawa, K., & Vieira, M. B. H. (2007). An epigenetic origin of the Passagem de Mariana gold deposit, Quadrilátero Ferrífero, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Ore Geology Reviews, 32, 596–613.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vink, B. W. (1996). Stability relations of antimony and arsenic compounds in the light of revised and extended Eh–pH diagrams. Chemical Geology, 130, 21–30.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Weisz, M., Polyák, K., & Hlavay, J. (2000). Fractionation of elements in sediment samples collected in rivers and harbors at Lake Balaton and its catchment’s area. Microchemical Journal, 67, 207–217.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wilkie, J. A., & Hering, J. G. (1996). Adsorption of arsenic onto hydrous ferric oxide: Effects of adsorbate/adsorbent ratios and co-occurring solutes. Colloids and Surfaces A, 107, 97–110.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Žemberyová, M., Barteková, J., & Hagarová, I. (2006). The utilization of modified BCR three-step sequential extraction procedure for the fractionation of Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn in soil reference materials of different origins. Talanta, 70, 973–978.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Av. P.H. Rolfs, s/n, 36571-000, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Eduardo V. V. Varejão & Carlos R. Bellato

  2. Departamento de Solos, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Av. P.H. Rolfs, s/n, 36571-000, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Maurício P. F. Fontes & Jaime W. V. Mello

Authors
  1. Eduardo V. V. Varejão
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Carlos R. Bellato
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Maurício P. F. Fontes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jaime W. V. Mello
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carlos R. Bellato.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Varejão, E.V.V., Bellato, C.R., Fontes, M.P.F. et al. Arsenic and trace metals in river water and sediments from the southeast portion of the Iron Quadrangle, Brazil. Environ Monit Assess 172, 631–642 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-010-1361-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-010-1361-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation