ABSTRACT
The AgriAs project – Evaluation and management of arsenic contamination in agricultural soil and water has compiled a summary of European-wide databases and publications on As concentrations in agricultural soils and related water bodies, As concentrations in crops together with a list of gaps in data and knowledge. The literature review and theAgriAs questionnaire revealed that there is a large amount of nationwide or large-scale data on arsenic concentrations in soil, surface water and/or groundwater from many countries. However, none of the countries has published regional maps of arsenic concentrations in crops. According to the literature review and the questionnaire, no national-scale data on As concentrations in groundwater, stream water, sedimentor topsoil are available from Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Moldova and Romania. Moreover, there are no data from European-wide mapping programmes for two countries: Moldova and Turkey. There is no up-to-date map of arsenic concentrations in European groundwater related to agricultural sites. There are quite extensive European-wide datasets on As concentrations in agricultural soil, but more detailed regional mapping at the national level is needed, especially in those areas where anomalously high As concentrations in topsoil have been discovered. According to the AgriAs studies, European-wide data, as well as the nationwide data, on As concentrations in crops are almost completely lacking. The AgriAs project provides the European Union with reliable data on the existing risks of arsenic exposure through agriculture, a complete summary of existing tools available for As remediation as well as an array of tools for ecotoxicity and bioavailability assessment.
