Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-7cvxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T18:17:19.942Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Aqueous and solid-phase speciation of arsenic in Cornish soils

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 July 2018

C. Hutton ,
D. W. Bryce ,
W. Russeau ,
H. J. Glass ,
L. E. T. Jenkin ,
W. T. Corns  and
P. B. Stockwell
C. Hutton*
Affiliation:
Camborne School of Mines, School of Geography Archaeology and Earth Resources, University of Exeter, Tremough Campus, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9EZ, UK
D. W. Bryce
Affiliation:
PS Analytical, Arthur House, Crayfields Industrial Estate, Main Road, Orpington, Kent BR5 3HP, UK
W. Russeau
Affiliation:
University of Greenwich, Medway Sciences, Central Avenue, Chatham Maritime, Kent ME4 4TB, UK
H. J. Glass
Affiliation:
Camborne School of Mines, School of Geography Archaeology and Earth Resources, University of Exeter, Tremough Campus, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9EZ, UK
L. E. T. Jenkin
Affiliation:
Camborne School of Mines, School of Geography Archaeology and Earth Resources, University of Exeter, Tremough Campus, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9EZ, UK
W. T. Corns
Affiliation:
PS Analytical, Arthur House, Crayfields Industrial Estate, Main Road, Orpington, Kent BR5 3HP, UK
P. B. Stockwell
Affiliation:
PS Analytical, Arthur House, Crayfields Industrial Estate, Main Road, Orpington, Kent BR5 3HP, UK
*
*E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Cornwall (UK) has suffered extensive arsenic contamination due to the historic mining and processing of mineral ores. Standard procedures for contaminated land risk assessment (DEFRA and Environment Agency, 2002a) are probably unworkable in Cornwall, with a very large number of sites classified as contaminated by arsenic. Methods of measuring the speciation and mobility of arsenic are essential for effective and rapid risk assessments of arsenic contamination.

Three clusters of lysimeters were installed in three different areas of an arsenic-contaminated Cornish site. A novel phosphoric acid microwave extraction technique was applied to the soils removed from the lysimeter holes; HPLC-HG-AFS analysis showed the majority of solid-phase arsenic to be arsenate (AsV). Pore waters obtained from the lysimeters showed variable, relatively low levels of arsenite (AsIII) and arsenate (AsV) to be present (<1–129 μg l–1). Less toxic arsenate predominated in most pore waters, with the presence of minor amounts of arsenite suggesting heterogeneous redox conditions. Pore-water arsenic concentrations were strongly positively related to solid-phase arsenate concentrations.

The use of techniques that assess the speciation of arsenic both in the solid and aqueous phases of a soil provides important information about the mobility of arsenic. The methodology presented in this paper may offer a novel basis for risk assessments of other contaminated sites.

Keywords

arsenicCornwallminingUKspeciationmicrowaveextractionarsenitearsenatelysimeter
Type
Research Article
Information
Mineralogical Magazine , Volume 69 , Issue 5 , October 2005 , pp. 577 - 589
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 2005

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abrahams, P.W. and Thornton, I. (1986) Distribution and extent of land contaminated by arsenic and associated metals in mining regions of southwest England. Transcripts of the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy (Section B: Applied Earth Science), 96, 1–8.Google Scholar
Arčon, I., van Elteren, J.T., Glass, H.J., Kodre, A. and Šlejkovec, Z. (2005) EXAFS and Xanes study of arsenic in contaminated soil. X-ray Spectrometry, 34, 435–438.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Camm, G.S., Butcher, A.R., Pirrie, D., Hughes, P.K. and Glass, H.J. (2003a) Secondary mineral phases associated with a historic arsenic calciner identified using automated scanning electron microscopy; a pilot study from Cornwall, UK. Minerals Engineering, 16, 1269–1277CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Camm, G.S., Powell, N., Glass, H.J., Cressey, G. and Kirk, C. (2003b) Soil geochemical signature of a calciner site, Cornwall, SW England. Applied Earth Science (Transcripts of the Institute of Mining and Metallurgy B), 112, B1–B11.Google Scholar
Camm, G.A., Glass, H.J., Bryce, D.W. and Butcher, A.R. (2004) Characterisation of a mining-related arsenic-contaminated site, Cornwall, UK. Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 82, 1 — 15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cullen, W.R. and Reimer, K.J. (1989) Arsenic speciation in the environment. Chemical Reviews, 89, 713–764.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Daus, B., Mattusch, J., Wennrich, R. and Weiss, H. (2002) Investigation on stability and preservation of arsenic species in iron rich water samples. Talanta, 58, 57–65.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
DEFRA and Environment Agency (2002a) Soil Guideline Values for Arsenic Contamination, Report SGV1. The Environment Agency, Bristol, UK.Google Scholar
DEFRA and Environment Agency (2002b) Contaminated Land Exposure Assessment Model (CLEA): Technical Basis and Algorithms, Report CLR 10. The Environment Agency, Bristol, UK.Google Scholar
Gomez-Ariza, J.L., Sanchez-Rodas, D., Beltran, R., Corns, W.T. and Stockwell, P.B. (1998) Evaluation of atomic fluorescence spectrometry as a sensitive detection technique for arsenic speciation. Applied Organometallic Chemistry, 12, 439—447.3.0.CO;2-8>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gomez-Ariza, J.L., Sanchez-Rodas, D., Giraldez, I. and Morales, E. (2000) A comparison between ICP-MS and AFS detection for arsenic speciation in environmental samples. Talanta, 51, 257—268.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gurleyuk, H., Tyson, J.F. and Uden, P.C. (2000) Determination of extractable arsenic in soils using slurry sampling-on-line microwave extraction-hydride generation-atomic absorption spectrometry. Spectrochimica Acta Part B: Atomic Spectroscopy, 55, 933–940.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Helgesen, H. and Larsen, E.H. (1998) Bioavailability and speciation of arsenic in carrots grown in contaminated soil. The Analyst, 123, 791–796.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Houba, V.J.G., Temminghoff, E.J.M., Gaikhorst, G.A. and van Vark, W. (2000) Soil analysis procedures using 0.01 M calcium chloride as extraction reagent. Communications in Soil and Plant Analysis, 31, 1299–1396.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jin, Q., Liang, F., Zhang, H., Zhao, L., Huan, Y. and Song, D. (1999) Application of microwave techniques in analytical chemistry. Trends in Analytical Chemistry, 18, 479–490.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lin, Z. and Puls, R.W. (2000) Adsorption, desorption and oxidation of arsenic affected by clay minerals and aging process. Environmental Geology, 39, 753–759.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martin, A., Lopez-Gonzalavez, A. and Barbas, C. (2001) Development and validation of extraction methods for determination of zinc and arsenic speciation in soils using focused ultrasound. Analytica Chimica Acta, 442, 305–318.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCleskey, R.B., Nordstrom, D.K. and Maest, A.S. (2004) Preservation of water samples for arsenic(in/ V) determinations: an evaluation of the literature and new analytical results. Applied Geochemistry, 19, 995–1009.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mitsch, W.J. and Gosselink, J.G. (1993) Wetlands, 2ndedition. International Thomson Publishing, London, UK, 122 pp.Google Scholar
Moreno, E., Camara, C., Corns, W.T., Bryce, D.W. and Stockwell, P.B. (2000) Arsenic speciation in beverages by direct injection-ion chromatography - hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry. Journal of Automated Methods & Management in Chemistry, 22, 33—39.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mucci, A., Richard, L., Lucotte, M. and Guignard, C. (2000) The differential behaviour of arsenic and phosphorus in the water column and sediments of the Saguenay Fjord estuary, Canada. Aquatic Geochemistry, 6, 293–324.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nirel, P.M.V. and Morel, F.M.M. (1990) Technical note: Pitfalls of sequential extractions. Water Research, 24, 1055–1056.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Palacios, M.A., Gomez, M., Camara, C. and Lopez, M.A. (1997) Stability studies of arsenate, mono-methylarsoante, dimethylarsinate, arsenobetaine and arsenocholine in deionized water, urine and clean-up dry residue from urine samples and determination by liquid chromatography with microwave-assisted oxidation-hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometric detection. Analytica Chimica Acta, 340, 209–220.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Polya, D.A., Lythgoe, P.R., Abou-Shakra, F., Gault, A.G., Brydie, J.R., Webster, J.G., Brown, K.L., Nimfopoulos, M.K and Michailidis, K.M. (2003) IC-ICP-MS and IC-ICP-HEX-MS determination of arsenic speciation in surface and groundwaters: preservation and analytical issues. Mineralogical Magazine, 67, 247–261.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rahman, L., Corns, W.T., Bryce, D.W. and Stockwell, P.B. (2000) Determination of mercury, selenium, bismuth, arsenic and antimony in human hair by microwave digestion atomic fluorescence spectrometry. Talanta, 52, 833–843.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rawlins, B., Lister, R. and Cave, M. (2002) Arsenic in UK soils: reassessing the risk. Civil Engineering, 150, 187–190.Google Scholar
Scott, P.W., Reid, K.S., Shail, R.K. and Scrivener, R.C. (2003) Baseline geochemistry of Devonian low-grade metasedimentary rocks in Cornwall: preliminary data and environmental significance. Geoscience in south-west England, 10, 424–429.Google Scholar
Thomas, P., Finnie, J.K. and Williams, J.G. (1997) Feasibility of identification and monitoring of arsenic species in soil and sediment samples by coupled high-performance liquid chromatography inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry, 12, 1367–1372.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vergara Gallardo, M., Bohari, Y., Astruc, A., Potin-Gautier, M. and Astruc, M. (2001) Speciation analysis of arsenic in environmental solids reference materials by high-performance liquid chromatography-hydride generation-atomic fluorescence spectrometry following orthophosphoric acid extraction. Analytica Chimica Acta, 441, 257–268.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vilano, M., Padro, A. and Rubio, R. (2000) Coupled techniques based on liquid chromatography and atomic fluorescence detection for arsenic speciation. Analytica Chimica Acta, 441, 71–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wenzel, W.W., Kirchbaumer, N., Prohaska, T., Stingeder, G., Lombi, E. and Adriano, D.C. (2001) Arsenic fractionation in soils using an improved sequential extraction procedure. Analytica Chimica Acta, 483, 309–323.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wenzel, W.W., Brandstetter, A., Wutte, H., Lombi, E., Prohaska, T., Stingeder, G. and Adriano, D.C. (2002) Arsenic in field-collected soil solutions and extracts of contaminated soils and its implication to soil standards. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, 165, 221–228.3.0.CO;2-0>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
World Health Organisation (1993) Guidelines for Drinking-Water Quality, 2nd edition. Volume 1 — Recommendations. WHO, Geneva.Google Scholar