Linking organic matter deposition and iron mineral transformations to groundwater arsenic levels in the Mekong delta, Cambodia

Enriched As in drinking water wells in south and Southeast Asia has increased the risk of cancer for nearly 100 million people. This enrichment is generally attributed to the reductive dissolution of Fe oxides; however, the complex expression of As enrichment in these areas is not yet well understood. Here, the coupled sedimentological and geochemical factors that contribute to the extent and spatial distribution of groundwater As concentrations in the Mekong River delta, Cambodia in an avulsed scroll bar sequence are examined. X-Ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) was used to determine Fe and As speciation in redox preserved sediment collected from drilled cores. Dissolved As, Fe and S solution concentrations in existing and newly drilled wells (cores) differed considerably depending on their source sedimentology. The rapid burial of organic matter in the scroll bar sequence facilitated the development of extensive Fe-reducing conditions, and As release into the aquifer. In older features organic C levels are high enough to sustain extensive Fe reduction and provide ample SO4 which is reduced to sulfide. This S reduction impacts As levels; As is sequestered in sulfide minerals outside of the scrollbar sequence, decreasing pore water concentrations. In contrast, As is depleted in sediments from the scroll sequence, and associated with elevated pore water aqueous concentrations. The concentration and form of organic C in the scrollbar sequence is related to depositional environment, and can facilitate Fe and S mineral transformations, distinct sedimentary environments explain a portion of the inherent heterogeneity of aquifer As concentrations.