Arsenic Mobility in Sediments from Paracatu River Basin, MG, Brazil

Paracatu River Basin, Minas Gerais, Brazil, houses long areas of irrigated agriculture and gold-, lead-, and zinc-mining activities. This region has a prevalence of sulfide minerals and a natural occurrence of high levels of arsenopyrite. In this work, surface water, groundwater, sediments and local vegetable samples were collected in October 2010 and November 2011 and were analyzed to evaluate arsenic (As) distribution, mobility, and transport in these environmental compartments. All sediment samples (738-2,750 mg kg(-1)) and 37 % of the water samples [less than the limit of detection (LOD) to 110 A mu g L-1] from the rivers and streams of Paracatu had As concentrations greater than the quality standards established by national and international environmental organizations (5.9 mg kg(-1) for sediments and 10 A mu g L-1 for water). Most vegetable samples had As concentrations within the normal range for plants (lower than the LOD to 120 mg kg(-1)). A correlation among As concentrations in water, sediment, and vegetable samples was verified.