Analysis of the geological control on the spatial distribution of potentially toxic concentrations of As and F- in groundwater on a Pan-European scale

Elena Giménez-Forcada (1, 2) , Juan Antonio Luque-Espinar (2) , María Teresa López-Bahut (2) , Juan Grima-Olmedo (2) , Jorge Jiménez-Sánchez (2) , Carlos Ontiveros-Beltranena (2) , José Ángel Díaz-Muñoz (2) , Daniel Elster (3) , Ferid Skopljak (4) , Denitza Voutchkova (5) , Birgitte Hansen (5) , Klaus Hinsby (5) , Jörg Schullehner (5, 6) , Eline Malcuit (7) , Laurence Gourcy (7) , Teodóra Szőcs (8) , Nóra Gál (8) , Daði Þorbjörnsson (9) , Katie Tedd (10) , Dāvis Borozdins (11) , Henry Debattista (12) , Agnieszka Felter (13) , Jolanta Cabalska (14) , Anna Mikołajczyk (15) , Ana Pereira (16) , Jose Sampaio (16) , Diana Perşa (17) , Tanja Petrović Pantic (18) , Nina Rman (19) , Georgina Arnó (20) , Ignasi Herms (20) , Lars Rosenqvist (21)

1 CIDE - Centro de Investigaciones sobre Desertificacion
2 IGME - Instituto Geológico y Minero de España
3 Geological Survey of Austria - Geologische Bundesanstalt
4 FZZG - Geological Survey of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
5 GEUS - Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland
6 Aarhus University [Aarhus]
7 BRGM - Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières (BRGM)
8 MBFSZ - Mining and Geological Survey of Hungary
9 ISOR - Iceland GeoSurvey
10 Geological Survey of Ireland
11 LEGMC - Latvian Environment Geology and Meteorology Centre
12 EWA - Energy & Water Agency MTI
13 Polish Geological Institute
14 Polish Geological Institute
15 Polish Geological Institute
16 LNEG - Laboratório Nacional de Energia e Geologia
17 Geological Institute of Romania, Bucureşti, Romania
18 Geological Survey of Serbia
19 GeoZS - Geological Survey of Slovenia
20 ICGC - Institut Cartogràfic i Geològic de Catalunya
21 Geological Survey of Sweden

The distribution of the high concentrations of arsenic (As) and fluoride (F-) in groundwater on a Pan-European scale could be explained by the geological European context (lithology and structural faults). To test this hypothesis, seventeen countries and eighteen geological survey organizations (GSOs) have participated in the dataset. The methodology has used the HydroGeoToxicity (HGT) and the Baseline Concentration (BLC) index. The results prove that most of the waters considered in this study are in good conditions for drinking water consumption, in terms of As and/or F- content. A low proportion of the analysed samples present HGT≥ 1 levels (4% and 7% for As and F-, respectively). The spatial distribution of the highest As and/or F- concentrations (via BLC values) has been analysed using GIS tools. The highest values are identified associated with fissured hard rock outcrops (crystalline rocks) or Cenozoic sedimentary zones, where basement fractures seems to have an obvious control on the distribution of maximum concentrations of these elements in groundwaters.

Mots clés: Trace elements; Arsenic; Fluoride; Groundwater; Geo-Hydrochemistry; Spatial Analysis

Domaines: Sciences de la Terre

Elena Giménez-Forcada, Juan Antonio Luque-Espinar, María Teresa López-Bahut, Juan Grima-Olmedo, Jorge Jiménez-Sánchez, et al.. Analysis of the geological control on the spatial distribution of potentially toxic concentrations of As and F- in groundwater on a Pan-European scale. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 2022, 247, pp.114161. ⟨10.1016/j.ecoenv.2022.114161⟩. ⟨hal-03846463⟩