Hopane, sterane and n-alkane distributions in shallow sediments hosting high arsenic groundwaters in Cambodia

The presence of elevated As in ground waters exploited for drinking water and irrigation in South-East Asia is causing serious impacts on human health. A key mechanism that causes the mobilization of As in these waters is microbially mediated reductive transformation of As-bearing Fe(III) hydrated oxides and the role of degradable organic matter (OM) in this process is widely recognized. A number of different types of OM that drive As release in these aquifers have been suggested, including petroleum derived hydrocarbons naturally seeping into shallow sediments from deeper thermally mature source rocks. However, the amount of information on the characteristics of the OM in South-East Asian aquifers is limited. Here the organic geochemical analyses of the saturated hydrocarbon fractions and radiocarbon analysis, of two additional sites in SE Asia are reported. The results show that the OM in a given sedimentary horizon likely derives from multiple sources including naturally occurring petroleum. The importance of naturally occurring petroleum as one of the sources was clearly indicated by the n-alkane CPI of approximately 1, the presence of an unresolved complex mixture, and hopane (dominated by 17α(H),21β(H) hopanes) and sterane distribution patterns. The results also indicate that the OM in these aquifers varies tremendously in content, character and potential bioavailability. Furthermore, the presence of petroleum derived OM in sediments at both sites doubles the number of locations where their presence has been observed in association with As-rich, shallow aquifers, suggesting that the role of petroleum derived OM in microbially mediated As release might occur over a wider range of geographical locations than previously thought.