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Targeting arsenic-safe aquifers for drinking water supplies

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Abstract

At present, 70 countries worldwide are affected by groundwater contamination by arsenic (As) released from predominantly geogenic sources. Consequently, the As problem is becoming a global issue. The option to target As-safe aquifers, which uses geological, geochemical, hydrogeological, morphological and climatic similarities to delimit As-safe aquifers, appears as a sustainable mitigation option. Two pilot areas, Meghna Flood Plain in Matlab Upazila, representative of Bengal Delta in Bangladesh, and Río Dulce Alluvial Cone, representing a typical aquifer setting in the Chaco-Pampean Plain in Argentina groundwater As occurrence, were compared. In rural Bangladesh, As removal techniques have been provided to the population, but with low social acceptance. In contrast, “targeting As-safe aquifers” was socially accepted in Bangladesh, where sediment color could be used to identify As-safe aquifer zones and to install safe wells. The investigation in Argentina is more complex because of very different conditions and sources of As. Targeting As-safe aquifers could be a sustainable option for many rural areas and isolated peri-urban areas.

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Acknowledgments

This study was initated through the research project funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida-SAREC) and Swedish Research Council (VR-Sida) through grants SWE-2001-201, and 348-2003-4963, respectively. We are also grateful to the Strategic Environmental Research Foundation (MISTRA) for financial support to the KTH-International Groundwater Arsenic Research Group for targeting safe aquifers in the regions with high As groundwater (2005-035-137). We are grateful to Peter Ravenscroft and an anonymous reviewer for their meticulous reviews which has helped us improve the earlier drafts of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Applied Research, Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, Moltkestraße 30, 76133, Karlsruhe, Germany

    Jochen Bundschuh

  2. Department of Land and Water Resources Engineering, Royal Institute of Technology, 10044, Stockholm, Sweden

    Jochen Bundschuh

  3. Gerencia Química, Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, and Escuela de Posgrado, Universidad de Gral. San Martín, San Martín, Prov. de Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Marta I. Litter

  4. KTH-International Groundwater Arsenic Research Group, Department of Land and Water Resources Engineering, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), 10044, Stockholm, Sweden

    Prosun Bhattacharya

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  1. Jochen Bundschuh
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  2. Marta I. Litter
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  3. Prosun Bhattacharya
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Correspondence to Prosun Bhattacharya.

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Bundschuh, J., Litter, M.I. & Bhattacharya, P. Targeting arsenic-safe aquifers for drinking water supplies. Environ Geochem Health 32, 307–315 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-010-9308-8

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