Isotopic (S isotope) and geophysical studies on the originof arsenic pollution in groundwater around Yurtbasi (Yurtbaşi-Elaziğ)

The main objective of this study is to investigate as isotopic and geophysical on the originofarsenic pollution in the ground waters of Yurtbaşı, Elazığ Turkey. For that, fourth water samples were collected from deep wells in the study area at Jun and October months of 2015 and measuredthe temperature, pH, and electric conductivity and analyzed for different elements in Acme Lab (Canada). Some wells had very high As concentration (486 and 15123 ppb)and it was collected the water samples from polluted wells (Y-13, Y-17 and Y-33) for δ34Sisotope analysis and As speciation. In the same time, it was performed geophysical measurements on the some wells to obtain geometry of the aquifer. This is also showed that aquifer formation polluted with As started to be seen after 30-35 mdepths as observed in three measurements. 6 water samples were analyzed for δ34S isotope and found δ34S isotope values between 14.8 and 19.4. These results indicated that the groundwater pollution of Yurtbaşı is originated from the deep zones such as fault zones or the alteration of the sulphide deposits. Therefore, This underground water intensely polluted by the arsenic and other metals. The arsenic speciation in this underground water was detected to be mostly As (V) and not seen As (III) in these waters. As (III) is more toxic and mobile than As (V), so its removal efficiency is much lower than that of As (V) when conventional arsenic removal technologies are used. Despite these results, it should be recommended that these waters are not used as drinking and irrigation water.