<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> The aim of this study was to determine the impact of pH on arsenic solubility in soils heavily contaminated by the former arsenic industry. For the purpose of the study, three soil samples were collected from the area affected by ore processing in Złoty Stok. Soils differed in initial pH, calcium carbonate content, organic matter content and total arsenic concentration. The amounts of arsenic released from soils at various pH were measured using extraction tests, where soil samples were shaken with various doses of HCl and NaOH in the presence of 0.01 mol • dm−3 CaCl2 as the background solution. Arsenic solubility in soils was considerably low at neutral or slightly acidic pH and increased considerably in both strongly acidic and alkaline conditions. The importance of these effects for environmental risk was discussed.</abstract>

The aim of this study was to determine the impact of pH on arsenic solubility in soils heavily contaminated by the former arsenic industry. For the purpose of the study, three soil samples were collected from the area affected by ore processing in Złoty Stok. Soils differed in initial pH, calcium carbonate content, organic matter content and total arsenic concentration. The amounts of arsenic released from soils at various pH were measured using extraction tests, where soil samples were shaken with various doses of HCl and NaOH in the presence of 0.01 mol • dm−3 CaCl2 as the background solution. Arsenic solubility in soils was considerably low at neutral or slightly acidic pH and increased considerably in both strongly acidic and alkaline conditions. The importance of these effects for environmental risk was discussed.

Influence of pH on the solubility of arsenic in heavily contaminated soils / Wpływ pH na rozpuszczalność arsenu w glebach silnie zanieczyszczonych

Department of Soil Sciences and Environmental Protection, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Grunwaldzka 53 St, 50-357 Wroclaw, Poland

Environmental Protection and Natural Resources

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

The aim of this study was to determine the impact of pH on arsenic solubility in soils heavily contaminated by the former arsenic industry. For the purpose of...

Influence of pH on the solubility of arsenic in heavily contaminated soils / Wpływ pH na rozpuszczalność arsenu w glebach silnie zanieczyszczonych

Published Online: Sep 27, 2013

Page range: 7 - 11

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/oszn-2013-0031

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.