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- Litter, M. I., et al.
(författare)
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Arsenic in Argentina : Occurrence, human health, legislation and determination
- 2019
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Ingår i: Science of the Total Environment. - : Elsevier B.V.. - 0048-9697 .- 1879-1026. ; 676, s. 756-766
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- An overview about the presence of arsenic (As) in groundwaters of Argentina, made by a transdisciplinary group of experts is presented. Aspects on As occurrence, effects of As on human health, regulations regarding the maximum allowable amount of As in drinking water as well as bottled water, and analytical techniques for As determination are presented. The most affected region in Argentina is the Chaco-Pampean plain, covering around 10 million km 2 , where approximately 88% of 86 groundwater samples collected in 2007 exceeded the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline value. In the Salí river basin, As concentrations ranged from 11.4 to 1660 μg/L, with 100% of the samples above the WHO guideline value. In the Argentine Altiplano (Puna) and Subandean valleys, 61% of 62 samples collected from surface and groundwaters exceeded the WHO limit. Thus, it can be estimated that, at present, the population at risk in Argentina reaches around four million people. Pathologies derived from the chronic consumption of As, the metabolism of As in the human body and the effects of the different As chemical forms, gathered under the name HACRE (hidroarsenicismo crónico regional endémico in Spanish, for chronic regional endemic hydroarsenicism) are described. Regarding the regulations, the 10 μg/L limit recommended by the WHO and the United States Environmental Protection Agency has been incorporated in the Argentine Food Code, but the application is still on hold. In addition, there is disparity regarding the maximal admitted values in several provinces. Considerations about the As concentrations in bottled water are also presented. A survey indicates that there are several Argentine laboratories with the suitable equipment for As determination at 10 μg/L, although 66% of them are concentrated in Buenos Aires City, and in the Santa Fe, Córdoba and Buenos Aires provinces. Conclusions and recommendations of this first part are provided.
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| 2. |
- Bundschuh, J., et al.
(författare)
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Arsenic in Latin America : New findings on source, mobilization and mobility in human environments in 20 countries based on decadal research 2010-2020
- 2020
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Ingår i: Critical reviews in environmental science and technology. - : Taylor and Francis Inc.. - 1064-3389 .- 1547-6537. ; , s. 1-119
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Today (year 2020), the globally recognized problem of arsenic (As) contamination of water resources and other environments at toxic levels has been reported in all of the 20 Latin American countries. The present review indicates that As is prevalent in 200 areas across these countries. Arsenic is naturally released into the environment and mobilized from geogenic sources comprising: (i) volcanic rocks and emissions, the latter being transported over thousands of kilometers from the source, (ii) metallic mineral deposits, which get exposed to human beings and livestock through drinking water or food chain, and (iii) As-rich geothermal fluids ascending from deep geothermal reservoirs contaminate freshwater sources. The challenge for mitigation is increased manifold by mining and related activities, as As from mining sites is transported by rivers over long distances and even reaches and contaminates coastal environments. The recognition of the As problem by the authorities in several countries has led to various actions for remediation, but there is a lack of long-term strategies for such interventions. Often only total As concentration is reported, while data on As sources, mobilization, speciation, mobility and pathways are lacking which is imperative for assessing quality of any water source, i.e. public and private.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Bundschuh, Jochen, et al.
(författare)
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Arsenic removal from groundwater of the Chaco-Pampean Plain (Argentina) using natural geological materials as adsorbents
- 2011
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Ingår i: Journal of Environmental Science and Health. Part A. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1093-4529 .- 1532-4117. ; 46:11, s. 1297-1310
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Use of natural geological materials for arsenic (As) removal is an emerging solution at a household level for poor people in remote rural settlements, especially when the materials are locally available and can be collected by the local population. Their low or zero cost makes these materials very attractive compared with synthetic or commercial materials. Sometimes, this may be the only option to provide safe water to very poor settlements. Their suitability for As removal from water is mainly due to adsorption, co-precipitation and ion exchange processes involving Fe- and Al-rich minerals and clay minerals present in the soils or sediments. In the present study, various clay-rich soils from the Santiago del Estero province (SDE, NW Argentina) and, for comparison, a laterite from the Misiones province have been tested as adsorbents for As in shallow naturally contaminated groundwaters of the Rio Dulce alluvial aquifer in SDE. Batch adsorption experiments showed higher As(V) removal for the Misiones laterite sample (99 %) as compared with the soils from SDE (40-53 %), which can be related to lower contents of water-soluble and oxalate extractable Al and Fe in the last samples. These results suggest the application of the Misiones laterite soil as an alternative for As removal. However, high transportation costs from Misiones to SDE can be an economical restriction for the low-income population of SDE.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Litter, Marta I., et al.
(författare)
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Arsenic in Argentina : Technologies for arsenic removal from groundwater sources, investment costs and waste management practices
- 2019
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Ingår i: Science of the Total Environment. - : ELSEVIER. - 0048-9697 .- 1879-1026. ; 690, s. 778-789
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- An overview about the presence of arsenic (As) in groundwaters of Argentina, made by a transdisciplinary group of experts is presented. In this second part, the conventional and emerging technologies for As removal, management of wastes, and the initial investment costs of the proposed technologies, with emphasis on developments of local groups are described. Successful examples of real application of conventional and emerging technologies for As removal in waters for human consumption, for medium, small and rural and periurban communities are reported. In the country, the two most applied technologies for arsenic removal at a real scale are reverse osmosis and coagulation-adsorption-filtration processes using iron or aluminum salts or polyelectrolytes as coagulants. A decision tree to evaluate the possible technologies to be applied, based on the population size, the quality of the water and its intended use, is presented, including preliminary and indicative investment costs. Finally, a section discussing the treatment and final disposal of the liquid, semiliquid and solid wastes, generated by the application of the most used technologies, is included. Conclusions and recommendations, especially for isolated rural and periurban regions, have been added.
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| 7. |
- Litter, M. I., et al.
(författare)
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Emerging options for solving the arsenic problems of rural and periurban areas in Latin America
- 2012
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Ingår i: Understanding the Geological and Medical Interface of Arsenic, As 2012 - 4th International Congress: Arsenic in the Environment. - : CRC Press. - 9780415637633 ; , s. 267-270
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Emerging, low-cost technologies to mitigate the problem of arsenic in drinking water resources of Latin America, suitable for rural and periurban areas lacking centralized water supplies have been evaluated. The technologies use generally simple and low-cost equipment that can easily be handled and maintained by the local population. Experiences comprise coagulation/filtration with iron and aluminum salts, scaled-down for small community- and household-scale-applications, adsorption techniques using low-cost arsenic sorbents, such as geological materials (clays, laterites, soils, limestones), natural organic-based sorbents (natural biomass), and synthetic materials, use of constructed wetlands with native perennial plants for arsenic rhizofiltration, capacitive deionization, zerovalent iron especially using nanoparticles and solar technologies including titanium dioxide-heterogeneous photocatalysis.
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