Detection of Arsenic Species in High Arsenic Groundwater

Arsenic in groundwater has seriously affected human health. Ecotoxicological effects of arsenic depend on the speciation of arsenic. High arsenic groundwater from Hangjinhouqi,Inner Mongolia was sampled and arsenic species were separated on-site with anion exchange column and detected by atomic fluorescence spectrometer. Results showed that total arsenic concentration varied from 80 to 1,172μg/L,with a ratios of As(Ⅲ)to total As from 75.37% to 92.39% while As(Ⅴ) and particulate arsenic from 0.56% ~13.87% and 5.87% ~20.65% respectively. Results indicated that high concentrations of arsenic in shallow aquifers are associated with strongly reducing conditions. Particulate arsenic constitutes certain proportion of total arsenic,which will be useful for both optimizing treatment options and studying the geochemical behavior of arsenic in high-As groundwater.