Arsenic and zinc in impoundment materials and related stream sediments from a polluted area in Eastern Slovakia: distribution, mobility, and water quality

The impoundment located near the village of Poša in eastern Slovakia is a significant source of arsenic. Waters penetrating the impoundment become enriched in As and other potentially toxic elements. As a consequence, the Kyjov brook and the Ondava River have been extensively polluted by arsenic. Although, zinc is of minor environmental significance regarding pollution in the area, it was also monitored to compare its behaviour with that of arsenic. The mobility and solid-state distribution of As and Zn in the impoundment materials and stream sediments have been investigated using a five-step sequential extraction procedure. Moreover, to investigate the bioavailability of As and Zn, two native plant species (Typha latifolia and Phragmites australis) growing at the site were collected and analyzed. The As concentrations in representative sediment and water samples ranged from 36.28 to 3208.35 mg kg^-1 and from 4.05 to 612.8 μg l^-1, respectively, both being many times above the background levels. The Zn concentrations of environmental importance were found to be high only in the impoundment materials (up to 3390 mg kg^-1). Although a part of As was present in a readily soluble form (6.62%), the majority of As was mainly associated with Fe/Mn oxides (37.30%) and residual phases (51%). Similarly, the most dominant fractions for zinc distribution were Fe/Mn oxides (38.5%), residual (34%) and exchangeable (18%). Combined results of the sequential extraction tests as well as chemical and mineralogical analysis indicated that As mobilisation potential from the sediments is likely controlled by Fe/Mn oxyhydroxide mineral phases. Plants growing in the impoundment had As concentrations 10 to 100 times higher than the same plants growing in a relatively non-polluted area, indicating an enhanced bioavailability of arsenic in the area with high total As contents in the impoundment materials.