| Arsenic (As), as a soil contaminant in Florida, can often be traced to the extensive use of cattle dipping vats to eradicate ticks. These vats held 5700 liters of arsenical solution, which was to be disposed of on-site yearly. With over 3400 sites in Florida, this represented a pervasive anthropogenic introduction of a potentially toxic contaminant.; Of these 3400 vats, ninety-four were located in Alachua County, Florida. Out of nine sites studied, the maximum soil As concentrations at three selected sites ranged from 100 to 767 mg/kg. The differences in As concentrations at these sites were attributed to a number of factors including variations in soil, hydrology, and vat history.; Effects of physicochemical soil properties on retention of As were investigated. Particle-size analysis suggested that soils with higher clay contents retained more arsenic. Contaminated soils with higher iron and aluminum content also exhibited higher As concentrations. Ground-penetrating radar was utilized at a Payne's Prairie vat site to locate the argillic horizon. Locating of the As plumes was effected by analysis of hand-augured soil borings. A Fusarium fungal culture was isolated from near this Payne's Prairie site that was capable of volatilizing As.; Soil gas collections near the surface overlying the zone of highest As concentration at two sites were shown to be essentially free of arsenic, though subsurface soil gas collections at two vat sites revealed gaseous As.; Mobilization studies were conducted on contaminated soil columns eluted with various anions under variable oxic conditions. Other studies involved surfactant extractions A cationic surfactant, cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide, was compared to a zwitterionic surfactant, 3- ((3-cholamidopropyl)-dimethylammonia) -1-propane sulfonate. Efficiencies of both extractants were below that of an anionic surfactant, sodium dodecyl sulfate, after arsenic has been complexed with a cationic macrocycle, (16-pyrimidium crown-4) {dollar}sp{lcub}+4{rcub}.{dollar}... |
