Research Advances in Identifying Sulfate Contamination Sources of Water Environment by Using Stable Isotopes

Huiwei Wang and Qianqian Zhang
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Huiwei Wang: Hebei and China Geological Survey Key Laboratory of Groundwater Remediation, Institute of Hydrogeology and Environmental Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050061, China
Qianqian Zhang: Hebei and China Geological Survey Key Laboratory of Groundwater Remediation, Institute of Hydrogeology and Environmental Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050061, China

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 11, 1-13

Abstract: As the main anion of groundwater, the content of sulfate affects the drinking water safety and ecological security directly. In recent years, with the acceleration of industrialization and urbanization development, the problem of sulfate pollution in water environments is becoming more and more serious. It is critical to effectively identify the sulfate sources of water environment to ensure human health and the benign evolution of water environment. Due to its “fingerprints” feature, the sulfur and oxygen isotopes of SO 4 2− have been widely used to identify sources of sulfate contamination in water environment. However, research advances in tracing sulfate contamination sources of water environment by using stable isotopes are rarely reported. This paper reviewed the research advances of sulfate isotope technology domestically and abroad, which was used to trace the sources of sulfate pollution in water environment, compared different pre-treatment methods for analyzing the δ 34 S and δ 18 O of sulfate, and compiled the ranges of typical values of δ 34 S and δ 18 O from different potential sources of sulfate contamination. In this review, the limitation of the technique in traceability of sulfate pollution was also discussed, and the future traceability techniques of sulfate pollution were prospected.

Keywords: water environment; sulfate; stable isotope technique; source apportionment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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