Excerpt
Arsenic is widely found in the natural environment mainly as an outcome of processes related to vulcanicity but also as a consequence of anthropogenic use of inorganic forms such as arsenate and arsenite (Varillas et al. 1997). Material of volcanic origin is transported in suspension in the atmosphere and deposited as lenticular layers in the sediment on plains (Bolzicco et al. 1997). These layers undergo a washing process and the resulting fragments are subsequently mobilized by means of various infiltration and straining mechanisms, ending up in surface and groundwater (Bhumbla and Keefer 1994).
Chronic endemic hydro-arsenism is caused by the consumption, over prolonged periods, of water containing higher than normal concentrations of arsenic (Biagini et al. 1995). It is estimated that some 30 μg of arsenic per kilo of body weight is incorporated into the human organism daily, solely on the basis of the average arsenic content in food (Formigli et al. 1997). The World Health Organization (WHO) (1995) estimated that the average daily intake of inorganic arsenic from water reaches similar levels to that ingested via foodstuffs. This serious public health hazard is known to exist in Argentina (Salvador 1987) and was already recognized early this century …
Footnotes
Juan D. Paoloni is chair of hydrology and irrigation in the Department of Agronomy at the Universidad Nacional del Sur and CONICET, Bahía Blanca, Argentina. Carmen E. Fiorentino is chair of hydrology and irrigation in the Department of Agronomy at the Universidad Nacional del Sur at Bahía Blanca, Argentina. Mario E. Sequeira is with the Center for Renewable Natural Resources of the Semi-Arid Zone (CONICET) and chair of agricultural hydraulics and hydrology in the Department of Engineering, Universidad Nacional del Sur, Bahía Blanca, Argentina. Nora Echeverría is chair of soil conservation and management in the Department of Agronomy, Universidad Nacional del Sur, Bahía Blanca, Argentina.
- Copyright 2000 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.