Arsenic contamination in groundwater system of Viterbo area (Central Italy)

Abstract

In the last years the presence of arsenic in groundwater became an urgent environmental issue. The As maximum concentration in
drinking water has been changed from 50 μg/l to 10 μg/l, mainly due the effect observed on populations exposed to drinking water
rich in arsenic. Since many springs and wells of the Cimino-Vicano area exceeds the limits provided by Council Directive 98/83/EC,
arsenic has become the most urgent issue of local governments bodies. The aim of this paper is to investigate about the presence of this
element in groundwater and to contribute understanding of the behaviour of this in aquatic environment. In this project have been
analyzed 44 waters samples, with temperatures ranging from 15° C to 62° C, and they have been compared with data obtained
from paper of Sappa et al., 2014, relative to water supply network. The results show that the predominant specie of As in
agricultural and thermal water in reducing conditions is arsenite As (III) while the predominant specie present in drinking water in
oxidant conditions is arsenate As (V).