Electrochemical measurement and speciation of inorganic arsenic in groundwater of Bangladesh

The presence of arsenic in groundwater above the maximum permissible limit of 50 μg l−1 has threatened the health of more than 50 million people in Bangladesh and neighboring India. We report here the development of an inexpensive anodic stripping voltammetric (ASV) technique for routine measurement and speciation of arsenic in groundwater. The measurements are validated by more expensive atomic absorption, atomic emission and other techniques. To understand the present situation in Bangladesh, we measured As(III) in 960 water samples collected from 18 districts. A random distribution of 238 samples was used to measure both As(III) and As(V). The results from the present study indicate that most toxic form of inorganic arsenic, As(III), has the broad range of 30–98%. It shows 60% of the samples have 10 μg l−1 and 44% of the samples have 50 μg l−1 or more As(III). The fractional distribution pattern shows significant skew towards high percent occurrence which may indicate a progressive reduction process with a single source or a single mechanism for the formation of As(III). For direct consumption, this is possibly one of the most toxic groundwater known today. Speciation distribution at groundwater pH value shows H3AsO3 is the predominant species including H2AsO4− and H2AsO42− whose distribution is significantly pH dependent. This is also supported by Eh–pH measurements. The depth distribution for Kushtia shows most of the As(III) is located within 100–200 ft deep aquifers. Similar fractional distribution of As(III) is found in deeper aquifers and may indicate contamination by leakage from upper aquifer. This study clearly demonstrates the aquifer environment is reductive and conducive to the formation of As(III) species.