Manganese plays a complex role in human health and contaminant geochemistry. In the environment, Mn oxides are strong oxidants of soil and water contaminants which can lead to both inhibited and enhanced contaminant mobility. At the same time, the reduced Mn product itself can become a mobile water contaminant during these redox reactions. Manganese also plays a complex role in human health, where Mn serves as both a micronutrient and a neurotoxin, depending on the concentration that is consumed. In this talk, I will discuss how Mn enhances and inhibits metals mobility in diffusion-controlled environments such as those within soil aggregates, and how Mn can become mobilized as a side-effect of nitrate mitigation during managed aquifer recharge. I will then zoom out to the regional scale to reveal how manganese is pervasive in many California groundwater systems that serve as drinking water sources; however, potential exposure to Mn concentrations linked to adverse health effects is not evenly distributed across the State’s communities. To this point, I will discuss our group’s findings on the disparity in potential Mn drinking water contaminant exposure between communities dependent on domestic wells versus community (public) water systems in California’s Central Valley. Our investigation has revealed some of the major data gaps that need to be filled to perform accurate regional-scale studies on public health effects of consuming Mn-contaminated drinking water.

From molecular geochemistry to policy: how manganese contributes to drinking water contamination

Fall 2022 abstracts, posters, and presentations will launch in mid-September.

ACS Fall 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.