The Global Arsenic Problem: Challenges for Safe Water Production

231 Pages·2010·6.3 MB·English

by  Nalan Kabay (ed.)

The Global arsenic Problem: challenGes
for safe WaTer ProducTion
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arsenic in the environment
Series Editors
Jochen bundschuh
Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, Institute of Applied Research,
Karlsruhe, Germany
Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden
Prosun bhattacharya
KTH-International Groundwater Arsenic Research Group, Department of Land
and Water Resources Engineering, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH),
Stockholm, Sweden
issn: 1876-6218
Volume 2

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Cover photo
The photograph shows an arsenic removal plant, designed by layne christensen, that was
installed at el mirage, arizona in 2007. The system is designed to treat a water flow of up to
425 gallons (1610 liters) per minute and consists of two 7 foot (2.13 meter) diameter vessels
in a lead-lag configuration, each containing 225 cubic feet (1870 liters) of arsenXnp adsorp-
tion media. The system typically treats between 300,000 and 400,000 gallons (1140–1510 m3)
of water per day and lowers the arsenic content of the finished water to below the limit of
10 µg/l. The photo is courtesy of dr. Paul sylvester, layne christensen, northborough,
massachusetts, usa.

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The Global arsenic Problem:
challenges for safe Water Production
Editors
nalan Kabay
Department of Chemical Engineering, Ege University, Izmir, Turkey
Jochen bundschuh
Institute of Applied Research, Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences,
Karlsruhe, Germany
Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden
bruce hendry
Department of Chemical Engineering, Cape Peninsula University of Technology,
Cape Town, South Africa
marek bryjak
Department Polymer & Carbon Materials, Wroclaw University of Technology,
Wroclaw, Poland
Kazuharu Yoshizuka
Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Kitakyushu,
Kitakyushu, Japan
Prosun bhattacharya

KTH-International Groundwater Arsenic Research Group,
Department of Land and Water Resources Engineering,
Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden
süer anaç
Department of Irrigation and Agricultural Structures, Ege University, Izmir, Turkey
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CRC Press/Balkema is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2010 Taylor & francis Group, london, uK
Typeset by Vikatan Publishing solutions (P) ltd., chennai, india
Printed and bound in Great britain by TJ international ltd, Padstow, cornwall
all rights reserved. no part of this publication or the information contained herein may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, elec-
tronic, mechanical, by photocopying, recording or otherwise, without written prior permis-
sion from the publisher.
although all care is taken to ensure integrity and the quality of this publication and the
information herein, no responsibility is assumed by the publishers nor the author for any
damage to the property or persons as a result of operation or use of this publication and/or
the information contained herein.
Published by: crc Press/balkema
P.o. box 447, 2300 aK leiden, The netherlands
e-mail: [email protected]
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The global arsenic problem : challenges for safe water production / editors,
nalan Kabay ... [et al.].
p. cm. -- (arsenic in the environment, issn 1876-6218; v. 2)
includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-415-57521-8 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Water -- Purification -- aresnic removal.
2. drinking water -- arsenic content. i. Kabay, nalan. ii. Title. iii. series.
Td427.a77G59 2010
628.1’62--dc22
2010008726
isbn: 978-0-415-57521-8 (hbk)
isbn: 978-0-203-84339-0 (ebook)
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about the book series
although arsenic has been known as a ‘silent toxin’ since ancient times, and the contamination
of drinking water resources by geogenic arsenic was described in different locations around
the world long ago—e.g. in argentina in 1917—it was only two decades ago that it received
overwhelming worldwide public attention. as a consequence of the biggest arsenic calamity
in the world, which was detected more than twenty years back in West bengal, india and
other parts of southeast asia, there has been an exponential rise in scientific interest that
has triggered high quality research. since then, arsenic contamination (predominantly of
geogenic origin) of drinking water resources, soils, plants and air, the propagation of arsenic
in the food chain, the chronic affects of arsenic ingestion by humans, and their toxicological
and related public health consequences, have been described in many parts of the world, and
every year, even more new countries or regions are discovered to have arsenic problems.
arsenic is found as a drinking water contaminant, in many regions all around the world, in
both developing as well as industrialized countries. however, addressing the problem requires
different approaches which take into account, the differential economic and social conditions in
both country groups. it has been estimated that 200 million people worldwide are at risk from
drinking water containing high concentrations of arsenic, a number which is expected to fur-
ther increase due to the recent lowering of the limits of arsenic concentration in drinking water
to 10 μg l–1, which has already been adopted by many countries, and some authorities are even
considering decreasing this value further.
The book series “arsenic in the environment” is an inter- and multidisciplinary source of
information, making an effort to link the occurrence of geogenic arsenic in different environ-
ments and the potential contamination of ground- and surface water, soil and air and their
effect on the human society. The series fulfills the growing interest in the worldwide arsenic
issue, which is being accompanied by stronger regulations on the permissible maximum
contaminant levels (mcl) of arsenic in drinking water and food, which are being adopted
not only by the industrialized countries, but increasingly by developing countries.
The book series covers all fields of research concerning arsenic in the environment and aims
to present an integrated approach from its occurrence in rocks and mobilization into the ground-
and surface water, soil and air, its transport therein, and the pathways of arsenic introduction
into the food chain including uptake by humans. human arsenic exposure, arsenic bioavailability,
metabolism and toxicology are treated together with related public health effects and risk assess-
ments in order to better manage the contaminated land and aquatic environments and to reduce
human arsenic exposure. arsenic removal technologies and other methodologies to mitigate
the arsenic problem are addressed not only from the technological perspective, but also from an
economic and social point of view. only such inter- and multidisciplinary approaches, will allow
case-specific selection of optimal mitigation measures for each specific arsenic problem and
provide the local population with arsenic safe drinking water, food, and air.
We have an ambition to make this book series an international, multi- and interdisciplinary
source of knowledge and a platform for arsenic research oriented to the direct solution of prob-
lems with considerable social impact and relevance rather than simply focusing on cutting edge
and breakthrough research in physical, chemical, toxicological and medical sciences. The book
series will also form a consolidated source of information on the worldwide occurrences of
arsenic, which otherwise is dispersed and often hard to access. it will also have role in increasing
Vii
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Viii About the book series
the awareness and knowledge of the arsenic problem among administrators, policy makers and
company executives and improving international and bilateral cooperation on arsenic contami-
nation and its effects.
consequently, we see this book series as a comprehensive information base, which includes
authored or edited books from world-leading scientists on their specific field of arsenic research,
but also contains volumes with selected papers from international or regional congresses or
other scientific events. further, the abstracts presented during the homonymous biannual inter-
national congress series, which we organize in different parts of the world is being compiled in a
stand-alone book series “arsenic in the environment—Proceedings” that would give short and
crisp state of the art periodic updates of the contemporary trends in arsenic-related research.
both the series will be open for any person, scientific association, society or scientific network,
for the submission of new book projects. supported by a strong multi-disciplinary editorial
board, book proposals and manuscripts are peer reviewed and evaluated.
Jochen bundschuh
Prosun bhattacharya
(Series Editors)

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editorial board
Kazi matin ahmed Department of Geology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1000,
Bangladesh
E-mail [email protected]
mohammad alauddin Department of Chemistry, Wagner College, Staten Island,
NY 10301, USA
E-mail [email protected]
süer anaç Department of Irrigation and Agricultural Structures,
Faculty of Agriculture, Ege University, Izmir, Turkey
E-mail [email protected]
michael berg Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science
and Technology, 8600 Duebendorf, Switzerland
E-mail [email protected]
marek bryjak Department Polymer & Carbon Materials, Wroclaw University
of Technology, Wroclaw, Poland
E-mail [email protected]
José a. centeno Department of Environmental and Infectious Disease Sciences,
US Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Washington, DC
20306-6000, USA
E-mail: [email protected]
d. chandrasekharam Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute
of Technology-Bombay, Mumbai 400076, India
E-mail [email protected]
laurent charlet Earth and Planetary Science Department (LGIT-OSUG),
University of Grenoble-I, BP 53 38041 Grenoble, France
E-mail [email protected]
chien-Jen chen Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica,
Taipei City 115, Taiwan
E-mail [email protected]
Virginia ciminelli Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering,
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais,
35/206- Belo Horizonte- MG 30160-030, Brazil
E-mail [email protected]
luis h. cumbal Centro de Investigaciones Cientificas, Escuela Politecnica del
Ejercito (ESPE), Sangolqui, Ecuador
E-mail [email protected]
luz maria del razo Sección de Toxicología, CINVESTAV, 07360 Mexico City,
Mexico
E-mail [email protected]
Vicenta devesa Instituto de Agroquímica y Tecnología de Alimentos (IATA),
46100 Burjassot, Valencia, Spain
E-mail [email protected]
britta Planer-friedrich Fakultät für Biologie, Chemie und Geowissenschaften,
Universität Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
E-mail [email protected]
iX
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X Editorial board
maría eugenia Gonsebatt Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional
Autónoma de México, 04510 Mexico City, Mexico
E-mail [email protected]
nazmul haque Kleinfelder, Hanover, MD 21076, USA
E-mail [email protected]
bruce alexander hendry Chemical Engineering Department, Cape Peninsula University
of Technology, Belville, Cape Town, South Africa
E-mail [email protected]
Jan hoinkis Institute of Applied Research, Karlsruhe University of Applied
Sciences, 76133 Karlsruhe, Germany
E-mail [email protected]
Wolfgang h. höll Heinrich-Sontheimer-Laboratory, Technology Center for Water
(TZW), 76139 Karlsruhe, Germany
E-mail [email protected]
Jiin-shuh Jean Department of Earth Sciences, National Cheng Kung University,
Tainan City 701, Taiwan
E-mail [email protected]
nalan Kabay Chemical Engineering Department, Engineering Faculty,
Ege University, 35100 Bornova, Izmir, Turkey
E-mail [email protected]
anna Karczewska Institute of Soil Sciences and Environmental Protection,
Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences,
50 375 Wroclaw, Poland
E-mail [email protected]
douglas b. Kent US Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA
E-mail [email protected]
Kyoung-Woong Kim Department of Environmental Science and Engineering,
Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Buk-gu,
Gwangju 500-712, South Korea
E-mail [email protected]
Kirk T. Kitchin DABT NHEERL, US EPA, Research Triangle Park,
NC 27711, USA
E-mail [email protected]
Walter Klimecki Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University
of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721-0207, USA
E-mail [email protected]
marta litter Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, and Universidad de
Gral. San Martín, 1650 San Martín, Argentina
E-mail [email protected]
Jon r. lloyd School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences,
The , Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
E-mail [email protected]
dina l. lópez Department of Geological Sciences, Ohio University, Athens,
OH 45701, USA
E-mail [email protected]
Jörg matschullat Interdisciplinary Environmental Research Centre (IÖZ), TU
Bergakademie Freiberg, 09599 Freiberg, Germany
E-mail [email protected]
andrew meharg Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University
of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, AB51 0BT, UK
E-mail [email protected]
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Editorial board Xi
arun b. mukherjee Environmental Sciences, Department of Biological and
Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki,
00014, Finland
E-mail [email protected]
ravendra naidu University of South Australia, Mawson Lake Campus,
Mawson Lake, SA, Australia
E-mail [email protected]
Jack ng National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology,
The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
E-mail [email protected]
ross nickson WA Fairhurst and Partners, Aberdeen,
UK (formerly UNICEF, Kolkata, India)
E-mail [email protected]
d. Kirk nordstrom US Geological Survey, Boulder, CO 80303, USA
E-mail [email protected]
branislav Petrusevski UNESCO IHE Institute for Water Education,
2601 DA Delft, The Netherlands
E-mail [email protected]
Thomas Pichler Department of Geosciences GEO I, University of Bremen,
28334 Bremen, Germany
E-mail [email protected]
david Polya School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences,
The , Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
E-mail [email protected]
Peter ravenscroft Entec UK Ltd., Trinity House, Cambridge Business Park,
Cambridge, CB4 0WZ, UK
E-mail [email protected]
bernabe rivas Faculty of Chemistry, University of Concepción,
Concepción, Chile
E-mail [email protected]
Thomas r. rüde Institute of Hydrogeology, RWTH Aachen University,
52056 Aachen, Germany
E-mail [email protected]
Joanne m. santini Department of Structural and Molecular Biology,
University College London, London, UK
E-mail [email protected]
olle selinus Geological Survey of Sweden (SGU), 75 128 Uppsala,
Sweden

E-mail [email protected]
arup K. sengupta Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
at Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, USA
E-mail [email protected]
Pauline l. smedley British Geological Survey, Wallingford, OX10 8BB, UK
E-mail [email protected]
Kenneth G. stollenwerk US Geological Survey, Denver, CO, USA
E-mail [email protected]
doris stüben Institute of Mineralogy and Geochemistry,
Universität Karlsruhe (TH), 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
E-mail [email protected]
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