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Arsenic mobilization in the Brahmaputra plains of Assam: groundwater and sedimentary controls

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Abstract

Arsenic (As) mobilization to the groundwater of Brahmaputra floodplains was investigated in Titabor, Jorhat District, located in the North Eastern part of India. The groundwater and the aquifer geochemistry were characterized in the study area. The range of As concentration in the groundwater varies from 10 to 440 μg/l with mean concentration 210 μg/l. The groundwaters are characterized by high dissolved Fe, Mn, and HCO3 − and low concentrations of NO3 − and SO4 2− indicating the reduced conditions prevailing in the groundwater. In order to understand the actual mobilization processes in the area, six core drilling surrounding the two target tube wells (T1 and T2) with high As concentration (three drill-cores surrounds each tube well closely) was done. The sediment was analyzed its chemical, mineralogical, and elemental compositions. A selective sequential extraction suggested that most of the As in the sediment is bound to Fe oxides fractions (32 to 50 %) and the competition for adsorption site by anions (PO4 3−) also accounts to significant fractions of the total arsenic extracted. High variability in the extraction as well as properties of the sediment was observed due to the heterogeneity of the sediment samples with different chemical properties. The SEM and EDX results indicate the presence of Fe, Mn coating along with As for most of the sample, and the presence of As associated minerals were calculated using PHREEQC. The mobilization of As into the groundwater was anticipated to be largely controlled by the reductive dissolution of Fe oxides and partly by the competitive anions viz. PO4 3−.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical and Building Science, Vellore Institute of Technology University, VIT, Vellore, India

    Lalsangzela Sailo

  2. Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati, India

    Chandan Mahanta

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  1. Lalsangzela Sailo
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  2. Chandan Mahanta
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Correspondence to Lalsangzela Sailo.

Appendix

Appendix

Table 4 Groundwater quality of Jorhat District (mg/l) and EC (μs/cm)
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Table 5 List of the groundwater quality parameters analyzed and name of the experiment or instrument
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Table 6 List of analytical instruments and their model/manufacturer used for the analysis of groundwater and sediment parameters
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Total metal concentration in the sediments analyzed using EPA-3052 digestion procedure for copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and chromium (Cr).

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figure 7

Total copper (Cu) concentration in the sediment core samples along the depth profile at locations a 1A; b 1B

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Fig. 8
figure 8

Total zinc (Zn) concentration in the sediment core samples along the depth profile at locations a 1A; b 1B

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Fig. 9
figure 9

Total cadmium (Cd) concentration in the sediment core samples along the depth profile at locations a 1A; b 1B

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Fig. 10
figure 10

Total chromium (Cr) concentration in the sediment core samples along the depth profile at locations a 1A; b 1B

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Sailo, L., Mahanta, C. Arsenic mobilization in the Brahmaputra plains of Assam: groundwater and sedimentary controls. Environ Monit Assess 186, 6805–6820 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-014-3890-7

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