Analytical Tools for Arsenic Speciation in Soil, Water, and Plant: An Overview

The accurate determination of arsenic species is of crucial importance, as more than 100 arsenic (As) compounds with different mobility, toxicity, and chemical forms are present in the soil, plant, and water samples. Due to the toxicology, health, and safety properties, it is crucial to quantitatively measure the As species. The toxic properties and bioavailability of the elements depend on their concentration and speciation. This chapter serves as an overview of the As species and their toxicity, as well as available pretreatment, separation, and determination techniques of As species in soil, plants, and water samples. The evaluation of the available literature shows that HPLC-ICP-MS is the most widely used technique for As speciation and followed by hydride generation atomic spectroscopy. Finally, some suggestions are made to indicate the gaps that need to be addressed for the further development of As speciation tools.