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In the Mezquital valley, untreated wastewater (45 m s) from Mexico City is used for the irrigation of around 900 km of agricultural soil. High concentrations of metals including methylmercury (3.8 ± 2.5 ng l) and lead (0.16 ± 0.05 mg l) were measured in anoxic wastewater canals. Downstream, dissolved, and particulate polymetallic (Hg, Pb, Cr...) concentrations decreased by factors 10 to 1,000 in the Tula River (which received a mix of fresh and wastewater) due to the dilution and oxidation of surface water, and to the decrease of contaminants concentration in wastewater downstream irrigated soils. However, dissolved and particulate methylmercury concentrations (0.06 to 0.33 ng l and 1.6 to 4.5 μg kg, respectively) remained elevated in comparison to other natural hydrosystems. The monitoring of an irrigation event and the distribution of metals in a soil profile irrigated for more than 80 years showed that metals were retained in the draining tilled layer. The oxic conditions and slightly acidic pH (~6.5) in this layer were found favorable for metal adsorption and co-precipitation with redox-sensitive elements (Fe, Mn) and suggestively for mercury demethylation. In the downstream Tula River and groundwater, almost all metallic concentrations remained below guideline thresholds. Only, dissolved As and Pb concentrations remained two to five times above thresholds for drinking water, highlighting a potential health risk for approximately 500,000 people who use groundwater as water supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Latin America, like other areas in the world, is faced with the problem of high arsenic (As) background in surface and groundwater, with impacts on human health. We studied As biogeochemical cycling by periphyton in Lake Titicaca and the mine-impacted Lake Uru Uru. As concentration was measured in water, sediment, totora plants (Schoenoplectus californicus) and periphyton growing on stems, and As speciation was determined by X-ray absorption spectroscopy in bulk and EDTA-extracted periphyton. Dissolved arsenic was between 5.0 and 15 μg L−1 in Lake Titicaca and reached 78.5 μg L−1 in Lake Uru Uru. As accumulation in periphyton was highly variable. We report the highest As bioaccumulation factors ever measured (BAFsperiphyton up to 245,000) in one zone of Lake Titicaca, with As present as As(V) and monomethyl-As (MMA(V)). Non-accumulating periphyton found in the other sites presented BAFsperiphyton between 1281 and 11,962, with As present as As(III), As(V) and arsenosugars. DNA analysis evidenced several taxa possibly related to this phenomenon. Further screening of bacterial and algal isolates would be necessary to identify the organism(s) responsible for As hyperaccumulation. Impacts on the ecosystem and human health appear limited, but such organisms or consortia would be of great interest for the treatment of As contaminated water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]