ARSENIC CONTAMINATION IN GROUNDWATER IN KYONPYAW AREA, AYEYARWADY REGION

摘要

Ayeyarwady Region is occupying the delta region of Ayeyarwady River and located in the southern part of the country. Kyonpyaw area, located in the central part of the region, is covered by low lying alluvial flat plain, lakes and most swamps, which are flooded in rainy season. Arsenic contamination varies in different types of water sources like shallow tube wells, deep tube wells, dug wells, lakes and ponds, stream and river. It is especially noticeable in drinking water. The objectives of the paper are to examine the spatial distribution of arsenic contamination and to identify the arsenic concentrated area comparing with the density raster map of arsenic distribution. The sample points of Arsenic content data are totally 4968 which represent the various sources in Kyonpyaw area. Point density analysis and depth density analysis are applied to study the affected places of arsenic contamination in the study area. Result shows that density of arsenic concentration is high at Northeast and Southeast of Kyonpyaw area. Shallow tube wells contain more arsenic content than other types of sources. Land cover classification based on Landsat image, expresses that high arsenic levels are locally pronounced in settlement areas and some cultivated lands.