The goal of the international congress "As 2006" is to bring together geo-scientists, specialists from public health, and from chemical and engineering sciences involved on in arsenic-related issues. The regional focus of attention is dedicated to Latin America.
The conference serves as a platform for discussion and exchange of
scientific knowledge and ideas to identify future research targets of
research needed to improve the understanding of (1) the occurrence and
mobility of arsenic in groundwater, (2) the health impacts and risks
when using this water for drinking or irrigation purposes, and (3) to
develop, evaluate, select and apply those remediation methods, which
are the most suitable ones for the specific case, which means adapted
to the hydrogeological and hydrogeochemical properties of the aquifer,
the specific hydrochemical composition of the groundwater, the social
conditions and the economic situation of the affected population and
the respective water service providers.
The international congress is designed to (1) create interest within
the Latin American countries, which are affected by the presence of
arseniferous aquifers, (2) to address the international scientific
society community in general, (3) to update the current status of
knowledge on the dynamics of natural arsenic from the bedrock and soils
via aquifers and through groundwater to food chain for professionals
involved in the topic, (4) to constitute continue anthe important
worldwide forum on improved and efficient techniques for arsenic
As-removal in regions with elevated arsenic levels in groundwater, and
(5) to bring increase awareness, among administrators, policy makers
and company executives, on the problem and to improve the international
cooperation on that topic. However, we strongly encourage all other
researchers working on arsenic elsewhere in the world to contribute,
which would strengthen this global issue.
Sessions Topics
During the congress, the genesis of arseniferous groundwater in
sedimentary and hard rock aquifers and the assessment of health impacts
and risks, economic and social impacts, and the arsenic removal
technologies will be discussed in 7 sessions:
I. Arsenic Occurrences in Sedimentary and Hard-rock Aquifers
Case studies from: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Nicaragua,
Mexico, Peru, and other Latin American countries of Latin America.
II. Biogeochemistry of Arsenic in Soil and Groundwater
- Arsenic speciation: Inorganic/organic and methylated arsenic
- reactions, solubility and thermodynamic constants
- mobility and transportation
- adsorption/desorption processes and kinetics of adsorption/desorption
- redox processes and transformations biotic vs. abiotic, methylation/demethylation
- volatilization and arsine formation
- chemical equilibrium modelling
- speciation and analytical methods (spectrophotometry, hydride generation, ICP-MS and others)
III. Arsenic in the Food Chain
- Fate of arsenic in soil, water and crops/food u soil-plant transfer of arsenic
- bio-availability of arsenic from food
- arsenic in food chain
- higher-level speciation of arsenic in food
- dietary intake of arsenic via food
IV. Environmental Health Effects and Risk Assessment
- Environmental background levels
- arsenic exposure assessment
- arsenic metabolism
- toxicological mechanisms
- cancer effects
- non-cancer effects
- immunological and endocrinological effects
- reproductive and neurodevelopmental effects
- gender differences in exposure and health effects
- susceptibility factors
- screening of arsenic-related health effects at village/country level
- case definition treatment
V. Assessment of Social and Economic Impacts
- Arsenicosis and economic status
- arseniocosis and social implications
- social awareness of safe water supply at household level
- economic effects of arsenic poisoning --– assessment
- arsenicosis and its socioeconomic impact on village households and models of mitigation
VI. Remediation of ArsenicAs-rich Groundwaters
- Techniques for arsenic removal from groundwater
- conventional techniques and innovations for community supplies
- sophisticated technologies such as ion exchange and reverse osmosis
- arsenic removal at domestic scale
- In-situ remediation techniques
- emerging techniques using natural medium
- sorption of arsenic using plants as a method of removal of arsenic-phytoremediation and use of medicinal plants
- removal of arsenic from groundwater is an important worldwide issue
- treatment and deposition of arsenicAs-rich sludge generated during arsenic removal arsenic
VII. Management of ArsenicAs-rich Groundwaters
- Assessment of environmental quality based on natural background concentration of As
- Strategies for management of arsenic in drinking water
- major problems with remediation of arsenic contaminated groundwater systems
- site specific approach for economically feasible and effective management of groundwater arsenic contamination
- targeting arsenic-safe aquifers for managing drinking water supplies
- sustainability issues to circumvent the environmental health disasters
