Arsenic and fluorine in the Etnean volcanics from Biancavilla,Sicily, Italy: environmental implications |
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| Authors: | Email author" target="_blank">S?Mazziotti-TaglianiEmail author M?Angelone G?Armiento R?Pacifico C?Cremisini A?Gianfagna |
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| Institution: | 1.Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra,Sapienza Università di Roma,Rome,Italy;2.ENEA, National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development,Rome,Italy |
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| Abstract: | Mineralogical and geochemical studies were undertaken in the volcanic area of Biancavilla (Catania, Italy) with the aim of
explaining the nature of the high As and F contents of the area’s rocks. As and F contents in soils and groundwater were also
investigated. The metasomatised benmoreite lavas show fluorine and arsenic concentrations up to about 3,000 and 1,000 mg/kg,
respectively. Mineralogical analyses show that fluorine occurs mostly in fluoro-edenite and apatite-(CaF) crystals, both abundantly
present in the altered rocks, while As is exclusively attributed to the apatite-(CaF) crystals. Specifically, arsenic was
observed only at the borders of these apatite crystals. Leaching tests and sequential extraction procedures were carried out
to evaluate the potential remobilisation of As and F by the mineral phases and the eventual risks induced by their spreading.
The results of the leaching tests suggest that As is almost totally associated with the ‘easily reducible’ fraction and that
it is released by the preferential dissolution of the arsenic enriched rims of apatite-(CaF) crystals. In soils, As concentration
is relatively low (about 15 mg/kg, on average), while F ranges from 236 to 683 mg/kg. The underground waters supplying the
town of Biancavilla show As and F contents lower than the allowed limits for drinking water, (As:10 μg/L, F:1–1.5 mg/L). The
limited distribution of these rocks and the relatively limited mobilisation by the minerals both contribute to maintain low
As and F values, in soils and groundwaters, despite the high values in metasomatised lava samples. |
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