Trace Element Concentrations in Arsenic (As) Contaminated Drinking Water in Nepal Reflect Sediment Surface-Ground Water Interactions

Barbara Mueller
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Barbara Mueller: University of Basel, Switzerland

Journal of Development Innovations, 2019, vol. 3, issue 2, 12-28

Abstract: Since more than a decade it is known that in a variety of countries in South East Asia, arsenic (As) contamination of ground water used for drinking poses a serious health hazard. In ground water of these countries, the concentrations of the highly toxic elements frequently exceed the World Health Organization (WHO) drinking water guideline of 10 μg/L. According to a widely accepted hypothesis, a reductive dissolution of Fe-bearing minerals releases As-oxyanions. As the concentrations of As and Fe in ground water in the lowlands (Terai) of Nepal are highly variable as a function of location and a clear de-coupling of As and Fe resulting in a loss of correlation between these two elements, the mentioned hypothesis has to be questioned. Major trace element analysis of the ground water depicts a low concentration of Fe but substantial amount of Na, K, Li, B and Mo in these waters. All these elements are positively correlated with As; therefore, pointing to clayey sediments mainly consisting of micas and other clay minerals as the hosts of As. This specific pattern of trace element distribution is related to a so far underestimated original source of As as the peraluminous leucogranites found ubiquitously in the Nepalese Himalayas.

Keywords: Arsenic; Clay minerals; Decoupling; Trace elements; Leucogranite (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q25 Q53 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:kqi:journl:2019-3-2-2

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