Article pubs.acs.org/est
Sedimentological Control on Mn, and Other Trace Elements, In Groundwater of the Bengal Delta J. M. McArthur,†,* P. K. Sikdar,‡ B. Nath,§ N. Grassineau,∥ J. D. Marshall,⊥ and D. M. Banerjee# †
Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom Department of Environment Management, Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management, College Square, Kolkata 700073 § School of Environmental Systems Engineering, The University of Western Australia, MO15, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia ∥ Department of Geology, RHUL, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, United Kingdom ⊥ School of Environmental Science, University of Liverpool, Brownlow Street, Liverpool L69 3GP # Department of Geology, Delhi University, Chattra Marg, Delhi 110007 ‡
S Supporting Information *
ABSTRACT: To reveal what controls the concentration and distribution of possibly hazardous (Mn, U, Se, Cd, Bi, Pb) and nonhazardous (Fe, V, Mo, PO4) trace elements in groundwater of the Bengal delta, we mapped their concentrations in shallow groundwater (2 mg/L (n = 3313; data from refs 11 and 12), with a maximum of 10 mg/L. For southern West Bengal, the figures are 47%, 11%, and 6 mg/L, respectively (527 wells 2 mg/L of Mn. Migration of extreme concentrations of Mn into palaeo673
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palaeo-interfluvial aquifers were exceptionally easy to locate using the color differences between palaeo-channel wells, which yield Fe-rich water that stains red, and palaeo-interfluvial wells, which yield Mn-rich water that stains black. The reason for that ease is now clear. It is because the margins of palaeo-interfluvial aquifers are the locus of focused Fe- and Mn-reduction fronts, so wells at the palaeo-interfluvial margins tap water that is especially rich in either Mn or Fe. The juxtaposition of the reduction fronts heightens the contrast between the two colors of stain developed from each type of water. Marginal wells tapping the Mn-front stain more strongly black than do wells in the palaeo-interfluvial interiors where Mn concentrations are lower. Marginal wells tapping the Fe-front stain more strongly red that do most of those in palaeo-channel settings. The intensity of stain can, therefore, provide confirmation that a well is located at the Mn-reduction front or Fe-reduction front, which, today, means at the palaeo-interfluvial margin.
interfluvial interiors has yet to occur, and is limited by sorption of Mn to, or its reaction with, marginal sediments of the palaeointerfluvial aquifer. Concentrations of Mn in groundwater from palaeo-interfluvial interiors will therefore remain low for decades-to-centuries, as in the case of As.22 When retardation factors for Mn migration are known, this conclusion can be refined. Data of others6,11,12 show that Mn is widely distributed in groundwater of the Bengal delta at concentrations that may be hazardous in the light of modern epidemiological study.1−8 Nevertheless, in 2011, soon after these studies appear in print, WHO10 abandoned its Guideline Value for Mn in Drinking Water. Its stated reason for doing is that 0.4 mg/L of Mn is “well above concentrations of manganese normally found in drinking-water”.10 This statement is plainly wrong. This report, and further studies of Mn in groundwater, should provide the evidence needed to reverse that decision, if only as a precautionary measure to protect human health while epidemiological studies advance to the point of being definitive on this risk. Concentrations of U in the groundwater of our area do not exceed the WHO GV of 30 μg/L (and rarely exceed the previous GV of 15 μg/L). Concentrations >5 μg/L are found confined to palaeo-interfluvial groundwaters. Concentrations of V are typically 1−2 μg/L in palaeo-interfluvial groundwater, and nil in palaeo-channel groundwater. Concentrations of Sb, Se, Cd, Pb, and Bi, (Supporting Information Table S1) are mostly undetectable (2 mg/L) and Fe (>15 mg/L?) in groundwater may mark the presence of strip-interfaces at the margins of buried palaeointerfluves. If so, palaeo-interfluvial margins will be identifiable using the criteria of well-color that has proven successful in the Bengal delta.22 Despite the operation of regional variations governed by geological and climatic setting, the context of palaeo-channels and palaeo-interfluves may provide a unifying concept to assist development of deltaic aquifers and explain the distribution of Fe, Mn, Mo, V, PO4, U, and other dissolved constituents and pollutants, in deltaic aquifers worldwide.
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ASSOCIATED CONTENT
S Supporting Information *
Table S1 shows concentrations of dissolved species in well water and well depth and includes GPS coordinates to WGS84 datum. This material is available free of charge via the Internet at http://pubs.acs.org.
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AUTHOR INFORMATION Corresponding Author *Phone 0044 (0)20 7679 2376; e-mail:
[email protected]. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This work was funded by the Department of Earth Science at UCL, by the University of Western Australia (B.N.) and by NERC grant NE/G/016879/1 (J.M.McA. and P.K.S.), and the University of Liverpool. We thank J.D. Ball, of the Lifer Laboratory at Liverpool University, for the isotopic analysis, Elliot Harper for separating and identifying magnetite from sediments cored in West Bengal, and Jim Davy for driving the EDAX-SEM.
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