![Sample our Environment & Sustainability journals, sign in here to start your access, latest two full volumes FREE to you for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5935/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Environment-Sustainability.jpg"})
ABSTRACT
The release of arsenic from technosols was monitored using short-term dynamic leaching of homogeneous soil columns with native solution. Large amounts of readily available arsenic (16 mg kg−1) were extracted from arsenic-rich ashy samples while representing less than 4 wt % of their total contents. In the first hour of leaching, the observed concentrations of water-soluble arsenic ranged from 650 to 830 μg L−1, further increasing in the following leachates. The results showed that the concentrations of water-soluble arsenic were several times higher than the recommended limits for drinking water. Yet, most of arsenic is strongly bound to amorphous aluminosilicate phases. The contents of arsenic in the studied plant samples, including calculated transfer factors, confirmed that increased concentrations of arsenic in the soil of geological environment affected by dam failure of a coal ash pond may have a negative effect on crops since arsenic becomes part of the food chain.
Acknowledgments
This research was financially supported by the Scientific Grant Agency of the Ministry of Education of the Slovak Republic and the Academy of Sciences (VEGA No. 1/0321/14 and No. 1/0597/17), and by the grant from Comenius University in Bratislava No. 187/2016. The results of water sampling is part of the task Partial monitoring system – subsystem 03, no. 207, which is solved by the State Geological Institute of Dionýz Štúr in Bratislava. The authors acknowledge Dr Ján Čurlík, DrSc. for help with soil horizons identification of ashy technosol and field work in the study area.
Disclosure statement
The authors declare no conflict of interest.