Application of arsenic field test kit to stream sediment: effect of fine particles and chemical extraction

Abstract

The field test kit for the on-site analysis of arsenic has been previously evaluated for aqueous solutions such as surface water and groundwater. In this study, the field test kit was optimized for arsenic determination in a sandy sediment The field test kit was found to be applicable to on site screening of arsenic contamination at levels around 6 mg kg(-1), the soil regulatory standard for arsenic concentration in Korean soils. However, the method requires a simple chemical pre-extraction. This arsenic extraction has been optimized and the effects of soil-solution ratio, extraction time and fine particles are discussed in detail. The fine particles in the sediment sample strongly bind to arsenic resulting in variability of its extraction, both in extractability and extraction time. Under the optimized conditions, the arsenic content using the field test kit had a high regression coefficient with respect to that found by chemical analysis of the sediment sample.