Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Dynamics And Speciation Of Arsenic In Drinking Water Wells In Eastern Wisconsin, Evvan Plank

Theses and Dissertations

Arsenic typically develops in Eastern Wisconsin groundwater as a result of oxidation of sulfide bearing minerals in the limestone bedrock (Schreiber et al. 2000). Naturally occurring arsenic exists in groundwater as oxyanions which have two oxidation states, As(III) and As(V). Under ambient pH conditions As(V) is primarily present as an anion (i.e., H2AsO4-) while As(III) tends to be uncharged (i.e., H3AsO3), making it much more difficult to remove through the existing treatment techniques such as adsorption and reverse osmosis (RO). Although many studies exist establishing arsenic concentrations across Wisconsin, there is a lack of investigations into the concentrations of each …