Assesment of arsenic-polluted groundwater in the Strumica region, an intensive agriculture production area

Kovacevik, Biljana and Boev, Blazo and Zajkova-Paneva, Vesna and Mitrev, Sasa (2017) Assesment of arsenic-polluted groundwater in the Strumica region, an intensive agriculture production area. In: 17th CEEPUS Symposium and Summer School on Bioanalysis, 02-08 July 2017, Ohrid, Republic of Macedonia.

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Abstract

Arsenic polluted groundwater was found in the south-east part of the Republic of
Macedonia where an intensive agriculture production is concentrate on the area of 963
km2. Out of 185 samples collected from boreholes, 64 samples have arsenic in
concentrations greater than 10 μg/L, from which 30 samples have concentration greater
than 50 μg/L with maximum concentration of 176.56 μg/L. The affected aquifers are
mostly concentrated in the central part of the valley characterized with alluvial plains
and young aquifers. Polluted samples are collected from boreholes with different
depths: 15 samples are shallow (4,5 - 20 m), 42 samples are deep (21-100 m) and 7
samples have depth greater than 100 m. The contaminated groundwater is slightly acidic
to neutral (pH between 7.5 – 8.53), with high alkalinity (HCO3
- 177.06 – 511.87) and
moderate conductivity (ECw 2.48 – 7.2). Highly affected samples are characterized with
high concentrations of Mn and Fe. Other investigated ions such as Mg, Na, K, Ca, P,
Cu, Ni, Co, Zn and Pb are present in low concentrations. Factor analysis revealed high
positive correlation between arsenic, iron and manganese which suggest the natural
origin of arsenic in groundwater. Reducing environment, high iron, high manganese and
bicarbonate content, as well as low sulfate and nitrate content, show that reductive
dissolution is one of the mechanisms by which arsenic is released into the groundwater
[1].

Item Type: Conference or Workshop Item (Poster)
Uncontrolled Keywords: agriculture, boreholes, irrigation, geochemical composition, factor analysis
Subjects: Natural sciences > Chemical sciences
Agricultural Sciences > Other agricultural sciences
Divisions: Faculty of Agriculture
Depositing User: Biljana Kovacevik
Date Deposited: 18 Dec 2017 14:10
Last Modified: 18 Dec 2017 14:10
URI: https://eprints.ugd.edu.mk/id/eprint/18678

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