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Variation in Arsenic Concentration Relative to Ammonium Nitrogen and Oxidation Reduction Potential in Surface and Groundwater

2008; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 39; Issue: 9-10 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/00103620802004318

1532-2416

Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Kazuhiko Egashira, Masakazu Tani, M. Jahiruddin, Abu Zofar Md. Moslehuddin, M. Zulfikar Rahman,

Mercury impact and mitigation studies

Abstract Arsenic (As), ammonium‐nitrogen (N), nitrate‐N concentrations, and oxidation–reduction potential (ORP) in the water samples from the river, pond, dug well, and shallow and deep tube wells (TW) were investigated in a farming village of southwestern Bangladesh. Concentrations of As and ammonium‐N were the highest, whereas ORP was the lowest in the shallow TW water among the water sources. The ammonium‐N concentration correlated positively with the As concentration and negatively with ORP for all samples, irrespective of the water sources. A rise in the ammonium‐N concentration was hypothesized to enhance microbial activity, which in turn would lower ORP, and then As was released from sediments to the surrounding water in a reducing condition. The source of ammonium‐N in the shallow TW water was identified as N fertilizer, based on the δ15N analysis. Thus, the influence of N fertilizer application on As contamination in groundwater was suggested. Keywords: Ammonium‐Narsenic releaseBangladeshnitrogen fertilizer Acknowledgments We express our grateful thanks to M. Shamim Uddin for his assistance in measuring the concentration of inorganic N in water samples at the Asia Arsenic Network Laboratory in Jessore city, Bangladesh.