Groundwater arsenic in Chimaltenango, Guatemala

In the Municipality of Chimaltenango, Guatemala, we sampled groundwater for total inorganic arsenic. In total, 42 samples were collected from 27 (43.5%) of the 62 wells in the municipality, with sites chosen to achieve spatial representation throughout the municipality. Samples were collected from h...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of water and health Vol. 12; no. 3; pp. 533 - 542
Main Authors Lotter, Jason T, Lacey, Steven E, Lopez, Ramon, Socoy Set, Genaro, Khodadoust, Amid P, Erdal, Serap
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England IWA Publishing 01.09.2014
Subjects
Arsenic
Arsenic - analysis
Carcinogens
Drinking water
Drinking Water - chemistry
Environmental Exposure
Environmental Monitoring
Faucets
Geological surveys
Global positioning systems
GPS
Groundwater
Groundwater - chemistry
Guatemala
Health risk assessment
Health risks
Humans
Models, Theoretical
Organizations
Positioning systems
Risk Assessment
Spatial discrimination
Surveying
Volcanic rocks
Water analysis
Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis
Water sampling
Guatemala
United States > US
USA
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Summary:In the Municipality of Chimaltenango, Guatemala, we sampled groundwater for total inorganic arsenic. In total, 42 samples were collected from 27 (43.5%) of the 62 wells in the municipality, with sites chosen to achieve spatial representation throughout the municipality. Samples were collected from household faucets used for drinking water, and sent to the USA for analysis. The only site found to have a concentration above the 10 μg/L World Health Organization provisional guideline for arsenic in drinking water was Cerro Alto, where the average concentration was 47.5 μg/L. A health risk assessment based on the arsenic levels found in Cerro Alto showed an increase in noncarcinogenic and carcinogenic risks for residents as a result of consuming groundwater as their primary drinking water source. Using data from the US Geological Survey and our global positioning system data of the sample locations, we found Cerro Alto to be the only site sampled within the tertiary volcanic rock layer, a known source of naturally occurring arsenic. Recommendations were made to reduce the levels of arsenic found in the community's drinking water so that the health risks can be managed.
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ISSN:1477-8920
1996-7829
DOI:10.2166/wh.2013.100