Full Description

Arsenic naturally occurs in more than 200 minerals of the earth's crust. Its dissolution in waterresources essentially depends on pH and on oxidation-reduction potential. Over the world, thegreatest number of humans exposed to high arsenic concentration in groundwater is mainlylocated in Bangladesh, India and Taiwan. Recent epidemiological studies on these populationshave shown that daily ingestion of water with high arsenic content could lead to specificdiseases like skin loss of pigmentation, keratosis, skin cancer or cancers of internal organs aslung, liver or bladder. Following these studies, the last US and European regulations decreasedthe acceptable limit of arsenic in drinking water from 50 to 10 ug/L.Consequently, improvement of existing treatment processes and evaluation of newtechnologies are needed to comply with the regulation on arsenic. Several efficient treatmentsare available. The best treatment choice for one site mainly depends on the followingconditions:arsenic chemical state in relation with pH and oxidation-reduction potential values in theresource;presence of other pollutants to be removed (iron, manganese, hardness, etc.);implementation of an arsenic removal process in already existing treatment plant; and,design of a full scale treatment on a new site. Includes 15 references, tables.

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Edition: Vol. - No. Published: 11/02/2003 Number of Pages: 8File Size: 1 file , 390 KB