A COMPARISON OF ARSENIC CONTAMINATION IN BETWEEN SOUTH ASIA AND EASTERN KENTUCKY’S WATER AND SEDIMENTS

The level of concentrated geogenic and anthropogenic trace elements, such as arsenic in groundwater, can lead to various detrimental health problems for the consuming population, which generally develop over a long time. The World Health Organization (WHO) and U.S Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) guideline value for arsenic in drinking water is 10µg/L. This work compared arsenic contamination between South Asia and Eastern Kentucky’s water and sediments from private wells and public water sources. Water samples from rivers, streams and household taps analyze them for trace elements, including arsenic and other trace elements. In South Asian aquifers, natural organic matter in sediments enhances the release of sediment-bound arsenic into the pore water. Concentrations of cations-anions dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and total nitrogen (TN) in water samples. Using the Cavity Ringdown spectrometer, the standard isotope values of δ2H and δ18O for representatives from 50 tube wells were measured. Grain size analysis, petrography, and SEM imaging analyzed sediment samples. Total extraction and a 6-step sequential extraction method were used to study the concentrations of arsenic and other trace metal within the sediment samples. Mining activities are one of the significant causes to affect natural aquifer systems and thus contaminate the aquifers in Eastern Kentucky. Soil and groundwater samples were collected from several locations to identify the arsenic and other trace element contamination. Coal fire is another source of arsenic in eastern Kentucky. For this project, collected samples from the area which have experienced coal fires. The porosity in the Kentucky coalfield rocks is very low. Still, some secondary porosities are due to joints and fractures in the rock that may transmit contaminated water more efficiently. These rocks exhibit a low hydraulic conductivity averaging 3.75 cm/day. The overall comparison allows us to understand the occurrence of arsenic and other trace metals in groundwater, sediment chemistry, and contaminate concentration in different aquifer.