Civita et al., Al in surface and ground water in the Alba Territory (NW Italy)

Identification of anomalous aluminium contents in surface and ground water in the Alba Territory (NW Italy)

Massimo Civita, Adriano Fiorucci and Roberta Miè

Dipartimento di Georisorse e Territorio, Politecnico di Torino, C.so Duca Degli Abruzzi, 24, 10129 Torino, Italy
e-mail: civita@polito.it

Abstract
Aluminium was determined in surface and ground waters in the Alba region of NW Italy to provide information on natural and anthropogenic sources of contamination. Determinations were made by a spectrophotometric method based on the aluminium-pyrocatechol complex. The total aluminium content of waters was determined as well as the toxic form of monomeric aluminium, obtained from samples that had been passed through 0.20 µm cellulose filters to remove colloidal and particulate material. Results were correlated with mortality data associated with Alzheimer's disease. There appeared to be a correlation between mortality data and areas having the highest aluminium content of water.

Keywords: aluminium, natural waters, analytical techniques, Alzheimer's disease, mortality, speciation.

Résumé
L'aluminium a été déterminé dans les eaux superficielles et souterraines dans la zone de Alba (à NW de l'Italie) afin d'établir si la pollution est d'origine naturelle ou bien anthropique. Les analyses on étè faites par spectrophotométrie du complex aluminium pyrocathecol. On a déterminé soit le contenu total en aluminium soit l'aluminium monomérique toxique sur les échantillons d'eau filtrés à travers un filtre en cellulose de 0.2 µm pour éloigner les particules colloïdales. On a comparé les résultats avec les données de mortalité par le mal d'alzheimer. On a détecté une correlation entre la teneur de mortalité et le pourcentage d'aluminium monomérique dans l'eau.

Mots-clés : aluminium, eau naturelle, techniques analytiques, maladie de Alzheimer, mortalité, spéciation.

Received 13 Nov 00 - Accepted 04 May 01

Geostandards Newsletter: The Journal of Geostandards and Geoanalysis
Vol. 25 No. 2-3 pp. 431-439 (2001)

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