AN INVESTIGATION OF THE OCCURRENCE OF ARSENIC IN GROUND WATER: MAHONING COUNTY, OHIO

This investigation examined the presence of Arsenic in groundwater through the sampling of residential wells in Mahoning County, Ohio, to examine the correlation between aquifer types, depth and pH. Well data was collected from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) to identify depth and aquifer type and Environmental Protection Agency compliance data for drinking water was utilized to identify existing drinking water wells that exceeded the maximum contaminant (MCL) level for arsenic. The latter data was used for comparative purposes and to delineated well selection near identified well sites that exceeded the current MCL of .10 parts per billion.

A total of two samples were collected from each well site, the samples were checked for pH in the field. The samples were refrigerated and then acidified with hydrochloric acid to ensure analyst accuracy. An Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer was utilized to analyze the samples for the presence of arsenic. The resulting empirical data suggest that there is no correlation to aquifer type, depth or pH level as an indicator for the presence of arsenic, due to the lack of detectable arsenic levels in the examined wells.