%0 Journal Article
%T Assessment of Heavy Metals Concentration in Arsenic Contaminated Groundwater of the Chaco Plain, Argentina
%A M. Cecilia Gim¨¦nez
%A Patricia S. Blanes
%A Edgar E. Buchhamer
%A Rosa M. Osicka
%A Yamila Morisio
%A Silvia S. Far¨ªas
%J ISRN Environmental Chemistry
%D 2013
%R 10.1155/2013/930207
%X The occurrence and distribution of arsenic and 23 other trace elements have been investigated in groundwater from Comandante Fern¨¢ndez Department in the Central region of Chaco Province, Northern Argentine. The arsenic concentrations samples ranged between 0.7 to 1990£¿¦Ìg£¿L£¿1; 91% ( ) exceeds the 10£¿¦Ìg£¿L£¿1 World Health Organization (WHO) provisional standard limits for drinking water. Fluorine was detected in 31% of groundwater samples. Furthermore, there was found a significant correlation between As and F ( ), indicating an association in the prevalence of both elements. In addition, about 78%, 31%, 16%, 13%, and 4.5% of groundwater samples had, respectively, B, Fe, Al, Mn, and Sb exceeding C¨®digo Alimentario Argentino (CAA) guideline values. In contrast of the previously values descript, the corresponding to Cr, Be, Ni, Pb, Ag, Se, and Zn were found below the quantification limit. The presence of As and trace elements in groundwater represents an important issue because it can cause a public health problem. 1. Introduction Among known pollutants, trace elements are widely recognized as being potentially toxic to living organisms. Water contamination with heavy metal (HM) are mainly determined by natural (i.e., weathering, erosion of bed rocks, and ore deposits) [1] and anthropogenic (i.e., mining, industries, and agriculture) processes [2]. Soils and water containing high levels of arsenic and other toxic trace elements can easily contaminate plants, animals, and human beings in contact with them, as they either produce toxic effects or accumulate in plants and thereby enter animal and human food chains [3]. Certain elements like sodium (Na), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), cobalt (Co), and zinc (Zn) are essentially required by living organisms in specific concentrations but may produce toxic effects in high concentrations [2]. The main threats to human health from HM are associated with exposure to lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As), which are extremely prejudicial owing to their toxicity, long persistence, and bioaccumulative nature [4]. Their toxic effects include headache, hypertension, irritability, abdominal pain, nerve damages, liver and kidney problems, sideroblastic anemia, intellectual disabilities, fatal cardiac arrest, and carcinogenesis. These metals have been extensively studied and their effects on human health regularly reviewed by international bodies such as the WHO [5]. Long-term drinking of arsenic contaminated water can cause severe skin diseases including
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/isrn.environmental.chemistry/2013/930207/