Factors responsible for high arsenic concentrations in two groundwater catchments in Taiwan

High As contents in groundwater were found in two neighboring catchments – the Chianan plain and the southern Choushui river alluvial fan in Taiwan. The groundwater quality, the redox potential and the As distribution of the Chianan plain were characterized using factor analysis, redox zoning and a geochemical program. The results were compared with those of the southern Choushui river alluvial fan. Possible As release mechanisms are also elucidated. Factors 1 and 2 of the groundwater in the Chianan plain – the salinization factor and the As enrichment factor – are similar to those in the southern Choushui river alluvial fan. However, the spatial distribution of reductive tendency in the Chianan plain is different to that in the Choushui river alluvial fan, and yields spatially distinct hydrogeochemical environments in these two neighboring areas. The reduction potential in the Chianan plain is stronger than that in the Choushui river alluvial fan. The difference between the reduction potentials in these two vicinal areas influences the concentrations of As in groundwater. The reductive dissolution of As-rich Fe oxyhydroxide is suggested to be the major mechanism for release of As to the groundwater in the Chianan plain and the Choushui river alluvial fan of Taiwan.