Geogenic molybdenum in ground and drinking water

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Thomas Pichler
• Subject Area: Hydrogeology, Hydrology, Limnology, Urban Water Management, Water Chemistry, Integrated Water Resources Management
• Term: from 2018 to 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 403725837

Generally Mo occurs in drinking water at concentrations well below those of health concern and thus far the World Health Organization (WHO) has not established a guideline value, but published a recommendation that Mo should not exceed 70 μg/L in drinking water. Thus, the recent discovery of groundwater molybdenum (Mo) concentrations of more than 5000 µg/L in Central Florida raises concern. There the Mo is naturally occurring (geogenic), but released due to anthropogenic perturbations of the physicochemical conditions in the aquifer. This type of anthropogenic-induced contamination by geogenic elements is a public health issue worldwide. In particular the ongoing catastrophic problems with arsenic (As) in Bangladesh and West Bengal are front-page stories in newspapers and scientific journals. Although much less toxic than As, Mo may prove to be of similar concern, particularly in aquifers of marine origin where Mo is already naturally elevated.To better understand the possibility of anthropogenic-induced contamination by geogenic Mo a multidisciplinary approach is proposed to evaluate its possible release from several aquifers of marine origin. The ultimate goal will be to develop an integral understanding of Mo mobilization through a combination of (geo)chemical, hydrogeological and mineralogical analyses together with the quantification of these results in a reactive transport model framework.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants