Abstract
150 groundwaters, sampled from 16 different villages of Lahore and Kasur districts, Punjab Pakistan, contain As exceeding the WHO standard (10microg/L) and reaches up to 2483 microg/L. The highly arsenic concentrated samples were obtained mostly from shallow hand pumps of 20-27m depth, and those are characterized by basic pH up to 9.5 and high SO4 up to 1200 mg/L. The sulfur isotopes values range from 4.8 to 6.7 with mean of 5.6. Arsenic speciation showed the As is in As+5 state. The spatial distribution of As-rich shallow groundwaters indicates either direct contamination from some anthropogenic source like coal combustion, or use of fertilizers. This paper reports the chemical characteristics of this newly reported contaminated groundwater and possible sources and mobilization of As.
