Arsenic in Groundwater in Eastern New England Research Proposal

Arsenic in Groundwater in Eastern New England - Research Proposal Example In eastern New England, the high concentrations of Arsenic occur in groundwater. Several researches have established that underground water contains arsenic due to bedrock geology (Environmental Science and Technology, 2006). A sample of 790 groundwater test samples from bedrocks within Maine and Augusta revealed that 31 of the samples contain arsenic greater than 10 milligrams per litre. High amount of geogenic arsenic within subsurface water in eastern New England has generated a lot of public health concern within US and the entire world. With a population of approximately 103, 000 majority of the inhabitant have private wells that supply drinking water. A large proportion of these wells have not complied with the requirement of Maximum Containment Level (MCL), which is 10 ÃŽ ¼g/L worldwide (De, Belkin & Lima, 2008). This situation increases exposure of the people using water from these wells to arsenic element. In this scenario, anthropogenic activities such as lumbering, use of pesticides and manufacturing contribute immensely to high levels of the element in groundwater (Henke, 2009). The private well owners by not complying with the MCL recommendations contribute to high increase in arsenic in drinking water drawn from the wells. However, drinking water drawn from unconsolidated aquifers contains less concentration of arsenic. Naturally, unconsolidated sedimentary rocks as well as bedrock aquifers contain arsenic. High concentrations of the chemicals are in glacial, alluvial, and volcanic basins occupied by sedimentary aquifers. In most instances, high concentrations of arsenic in groundwater occur due to geologic units in earth. These include Eliot formation, Berwick Formation, Rangeley Formation, and Ayer granodiorite (De, Belkin & Lima, 2008). Consequently, wells lying on metasedimentary bedrocks in New Hampshire and Maine produce water with the highest