Authors: Ioannis A Katsoyiannis Athanasios A Katsoyiannis
Publish Date: 2006/09/07
Volume: 123, Issue: 1-3, Pages: 393-406
Abstract
In groundwater used for drinking water supply in the greater industrial area of Thessaloniki in Northern Greece concentrations of total arsenic exceeded the WHO provisional guideline value and the EU maximum contaminant level MCL of 10 μg/L The concentration of total arsenic was in the range between 4–130 μg/L whereas the median value was 36 μg/L and the average concentration 46 μg/L Nine out of the eleven wells contained total arsenic at concentration higher than 10 μg/L and it should be stressed that 6 of them contain arsenic at concentrations between 10 new MCL and 50 μg/L previous MCL The examined groundwaters were found to contain elevated concentrations of manganese and phosphate Arsenic had a positive correlation with the pH indicating the possible effect of pH on arsenic mobilisation These findings emerge the problem of contamination from arsenic since according to the EU directive 98/83 all drinking water sources within the European Union should have achieved compliance with the new limits by 12/2003 implying that the situation requires urgent remedial action
Keywords: