Human health effects from chronic arsenic poisoning Article Review

High levels of arsenic in groundwater have been associated with the widespread increase in the poisoning of millions of people in many countries (Kapaj 2403). As a result, the study sought to investigate the combined effects of the diagenesis of iron oxide minerals and As(V) reduction on the mobility of arsenic by comparing As(III) and As(V) sorption onto varying solution compositions of three iron oxide minerals: goethite, amorphous iron oxide(HFO) and magnetite. Model parameters are extracted from the experimental data which are used to compare whether the results are consistent with the previously reported findings. The level of pH significantly influence the absorption and adsorption of As(III) and As(V) onto goethite and HFO. According to the sorption data used in the article, the As(V) reduction, with the availability of goethite or HFO, yields minor effects on arsenic mobility under optimum pH conditions.

The generation of the results of the experiment and the accompanying graphs are generally based on scientific probing. The findings of the study in the article are closely consistent with results of the previous studies which modeled As(III) and As(V) sorption onto different site densities, iron oxides, surface species as well as iron oxides electrostatic models. However, the results in the article discredit the generalization that the mobility of As(III) is higher than As(V) in environments as simplistic especially when iron oxides are used as sorbents. In light of the results, it is clear that the characteristics of iron oxides and the solution compositions, particularly the pH influence the relative affinity of As(III) and As(V).