Arsenic leakage crisis in electric car supply chain: water quality footprint of cobalt mining demands action

Arsenic leakage crisis in electric car supply chain: water quality footprint of cobalt mining demands action | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Arsenic leakage crisis in electric car supply chain: water quality footprint of cobalt mining demands action Anna Schomberg, Wolf von Tümpling, Ellen Kynast, Stefan Bringezu This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4359549/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Uncontrolled mine site leakage poses massive indirect environmental pollution, particularly when harmful substances, like arsenic, infiltrate water bodies, affecting humans. Arsenic contamination, recognized as a severe environmental catastrophe, exemplifies the water quality footprint from a Moroccan cobalt mine supplying electric car construction. Applying the water quality footprint method, we determined that 30 to 610 m 3 of virtual dilution water per electric car would be needed to reduce arsenic pollution below natural background levels. This single mine's water quality footprint constitutes up to 0.3 % of Morocco's annual water availability, concerning all electric cars produced annually with cobalt from this mine, and corresponds to the full annual capacity of one seawater desalination plant. This underscores the risk of problem shifting with climate-friendly technologies, prompts reflection on due diligence in supply chains under German and upcoming European legislation and highlights the shared responsibility of industry, society and politics. Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences/Environmental impact Earth and environmental sciences/Planetary science/Geochemistry Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental social sciences/Environmental impact Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Introduction To address and fulfill responsibility for supply chains, the Act on Corporate Due Diligence Obligations in Supply Chains (CDDG) came into force in Germany on January, 1 st 2023 (https://www.bmz.de). It was essentially developed in line with the European Corporate Due Diligence (CDD) taking into account EU requirements and discussions on similar regulations at European level. It aims to oblige companies to comply with due diligence obligations regarding environmental and social standards along their supply chains. The in March 2024 adopted ‘Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive’ (CSDDD) will exacerbate the need for companies inside and outside the EU to promote the establishment of sustainable and conscientious corporate conduct and to embed considerations of human rights and environmental factors within companies’ operational frameworks and corporate governance (https://commission.europa.eu/). Towards the end of 2023, German, French and Moroccan media questioned a German company’s compliance with the CDDG prompted by the discovery of greatly increased arsenic concentrations in water and urine samples below and in the surrounding of a cobalt mine in Morocco, from which the company sources cobalt for the construction of batteries for electric cars. Serious arsenic poisoning from naturally contaminated drinking water due to geological conditions may well represent one of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time. Found in drinking water sources across over thirty nations and affecting over 100 million people, the issue has been described as the most extensive case of mass poisoning in human history 1 . In the present case of the cobalt mine, however, it must be assumed that no natural circumstances, but leakage from the cobalt mine is responsible for elevated arsenic levels in the affected water bodies 2 used by the local population as drinking water source, for the irrigation of agricultural land and for watering livestock. Considering the high toxicity of arsenic for humans and ecosystems, the situation should be regarded as critical. The present instance is particularly relevant as cobalt from the considered mine contributes to the production of batteries for electric vehicles which are supposed to have the greatest climate protection potential of all land-based transport technologies in combination with low-emission electricity 3 . For electricity storage, there is a broad social and political consensus that e-mobility for passenger cars should be realised using rechargeable Lithium-ion batteries requiring 5 to 26 kg of cobalt, respectively today 4–8 . We use this as an opportunity to calculate for the first time the water quality footprint of arsenic leakage of the Moroccan cobalt mine and attribute it to the production of electric cars. Our calculations represent a potential scenario in which all the cobalt produced annually is used for the construction of electric car batteries. Thus, we aim to illustrate potentially health-damaging water pollution and establish the connection to the production of environmental friendly intended electric cars for the Western market through the supply chain. Also, we question the scope of the CDDG related to water issues. We emphasize that we do not assess the legal implications of the arsenic pollution nor attribute the water quality footprints to a specific electric car manufacturer, as we have not conducted a supply chain analysis in this regard. Results The water quality footprint is calculated using the VDV approach where the load of an emitted pollutant substance is divided by the natural concentration of this substance in the receiving water body 9,10 . The applied method was specifically designed for application within Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), where the quantity of an emission per reference unit, e. g. arsenic per kg of cobalt produced, is usually known. As this quantity is not directly known to us in the example of Bou Azzer, we present various methods to estimate and derive it from other information. As the natural concentration of arsenic in the receiving water body downstream the Bou Azzer mine, the river Sidi Blal, is not easy to determine and can only be estimated and, more important, as the uncertainties associated with the natural geogenic background concentration of arsenic are high, we present a range for the resulting water quality footprint. The method of the water quality footprint is a volumetric approach designed to compare virtual dilution volumes, not applied in reality, to physical volumes of water to illustrate the contribution of water pollution to the scarcity of clean freshwater. Reported per electric car, assuming that the total production of cobalt is used for this purpose, the approach is used to attribute local water pollution to foreign supply chains and illustrate its extent in comparison to physical uses. 1.1 Water quality footprint of arsenic leakage per electric car For comparison and verification, arsenic load is determined with two different approaches: 1) experimentally determined leaching from the tailings material of Bou Azzer cobalt mine from the literature 11 is multiplied with annual precipitation and 2) arsenic concentration determined from recently taken water samples in a retention basin below the mine is multiplied with the annual discharge of Sidi Blal, considering two different data sets for the second approach. As all three approaches and data provide very similar results, we will focus on the results from the second approach conducted by the authors of this study themselves in the following. The water quality footprint of arsenic leakage from the Bou Azzer mine is 30 to 610 m 3 per production of one electric car, under the assumption that all cobalt produced by the mine flows into the manufacture of car batteries (Fig. 1). The margin results from the assumption of a naturally elevated background concentration of arsenic in the Sidi Blal river to take account for uncertainties, respectively the assumption of no elevated level resembling an international target concentration of arsenic for drinking water. In contrast, for example, the physical water footprint of the entire production of an electric car is 120 m 3 (Fig. 1) 12 . Related to a physical water consumption of cobalt mining of 13.5 m 3 , the water quality footprint is at least as large, but it can also exceed it by up to forty five times, assuming a median of 13.5 kg of cobalt needed for one electric car battery (see Materials and Methods) and estimating a freshwater use of 1 m 3 per kilogram of cobalt 13 , as also documented by the Cobalt Institute (https://www.cobaltinstitute.org/). 1.2 Water quality footprint of arsenic leakage per year The water quality footprint per year or per total number of electrified cars produced per year with the cobalt from Bou Azzer, i. e. 150,000 cars and 2 kt cobalt, equals 4 to 87 million cubic meters. This amount of water, which would virtually be required to restore the original water quality around Bou Azzer, accounts for 0.02 to 0.30 % of the total annual availability of freshwater in Morocco, fossil water not included, and for more than 5 to nearly 120 % of the amount of freshwater produced annually by one of the world's largest seawater desalination plants, Douria in Agadir, Morocco (Fig. 2). We would like to point out here that the shares on the total annual water availability of Morocco may seem small, but the fact that the share here is near the percentage range at all is remarkable. After all, we are talking about the contribution of just one single mine in the supply chain of the electric cars under consideration compared to the water availability of an entire country. 1.3 Uncertainty analysis We have calculated the arsenic load in different ways and with different data, with all methods giving very similar results and only a small range of variance. While it is possible to quantify the variance of the measured arsenic concentrations in the laboratory with less than 3 %, this is less critical for determining the overall uncertainty of the water quality footprint, as we utilize a single point measurement, among others, to estimate the arsenic emissions from the entire mine for one year. Instead, we employ a sensitivity analysis (Fig. 3) to elucidate the significance of changes in influencing factors. The geogenic background concentration has the strongest influence on the result of the water quality footprint 10 . We thus computed footprints with both an elevated and a non-elevated background. Calculating with an elevated level results in a 95 % lower water quality footprint due to the high sensitivity. However, an anthropogenic, and not naturally, elevated level is more likely for the Wadi Alougoum, which is why this should be considered a minimum water quality footprint. Discussion 2.1 Dimension of the water quality footprint in different contexts Supply chain context: Under the assumption of reliable arsenic concentrations,30 to610 m 3 virtual dilution water are required per produced electric car. The latter more than doubles quantitative water footprints for electric cars from the literature 12 , although it is still a minimum water quality footprint: we are talking about the contribution of a single mine and one selected substance in the entire electric car supply chain. It is therefore expected that the overall water quality footprint across the entire supply chain is significantly higher, also in comparison to the quantitative use 9,14 . Water stress context: We have to emphasize that, if referenced to one year, this single impact alone already accounts for 0.3 % of the annually hydrologically available water in Morocco. It also corresponds to 1.2 times the annual production volume of one of the world's largest seawater desalination plants in Morocco, actually intended to cover increasing irrigation demands and to support Morocco’s limited water resources 15 . When considering the water situation at the watershed level, to which the Wadi Alougoum belongs, initially no water stress is observed. This is an effect of the scale dependency of hydrological variables: the reference units of water stress calculations are usually river catchment areas and water stress can be expressed, for example, as a withdrawal-to-availability ratio by dividing human water use by the total water availability on this reference unit. The background is that in reality, human water usage is often not limited to specific point sources but is organized within a watershed as part of historically developed water management concepts. In the WaterGAP2 hydrological model 16 , for example, catchment areas have a size of no more than 20,000 km 2 . The Wadi Alougoum is also part of such a catchment area and drains into the Oued Ouhmidi River, which drains via the Oued Zguid River and finally into the Oued Draa, one of the largest rivers in Morocco. This catchment area does not show any arithmetical water stress overall. However, in this case, since the local population of Wadi Alougoum is not supplied with water from distant sources but relies on local water sources 11 , the situation must also be assessed locally. The Wadi Alougoum is an extremely arid region with less than 100 mm of rainfall per year, a pronounced seasonal uneven distribution of rainfall and additional constraints imposed by geographical features within the Anti-Atlas mountain region, resulting in a very low natural water availability 11 . Leakage and pollution are hence major impacts on the local water resources and are fuelling the scarcity of clean water in Wadi Alougoum for both humans and nature. This case also supports the demand that water footprint analyses should be conducted at the highest possible resolution 9 . Local context: Locally, high arsenic concentrations are an extreme hazard if polluted water is used as drinking water, for livestock watering or crop irrigation. Continuous intake of arsenic through contaminated drinking water can lead to a range of medical consequences, from hyperpigmentation and keratosis to an increased risk of various types of cancer and impacts on verbal IQ and long-term memory, as well as fetal loss, premature delivery, and low birth weight 17 . The latter risks can occur even at low arsenic concentrations in drinking water of less than 10 µg L -1 , while 420 µg L -1 have been detected in the water retention basin flooded during the rainy season by surface water from the Wadi. Around the year 2000, approximately 47,000 people lived in the Wadi Alougoum, with 1,480 hectares of irrigated agricultural land where arsenic is introduced through the use of water from the Wadi. In a soil sample taken 10 m from the Wadi bank in Sidi Blal (30°28'43.2''N 6°58'43.5''W), 176 µg g -1 arsenic was detected. According to the German Federal Soil Protection and Contaminated Sites Ordinance his is near the limit for the transfer of pollutants from soil to crop more than three times higher than the action value for the transfer of pollutants from soil to the grasslands (https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bbodschv_2023/BBodSchV.pdf). Arsenic in irrigation water can exert toxic effects on plants 18 , leading to reduced plant growth and ultimately yield losses, with subsequent transfer to humans through consumption. In this setting, every single cubic meter of water counts to ensure the supply security for the local population and ecosystems. 2.2 Assumptions and limitations The water quality footprint is based on the concept of virtual dilution and does not represent an actual volume of water consumed. Instead, it illustrates the impact of water pollution on water availability compared to physical uses and can be particularly useful for attribution along supply chains. In determining the arsenic load, we relied on current measurements of concentrations in a retention basin below the Bou Azzer mine and compared these with calculations based on geology. As the results closely align, we assume that other effects that may play a role in arsenic input, such as wind-borne deposition and bedrock pollution, are negligible. Seasonal and spatial distribution patterns were not considered due to the scope of our study, focusing on attributing arsenic pollution and the water quality footprint to the electric cars produced with the cobalt obtained. Our results represent a potential scenario in which all the cobalt produced annually in Bou Azzer is used for the construction of electric car batteries. As the water quality footprint is highly sensitive to the geogenic background concentration, we have also considered an elevated level due to the mineral composition of the basement in the wadi Alougoum, even if no elevated background has been reported for Morocco as a whole to date, herein accounting for potential natural arsenic sources, to calculate a minimum water quality footprint. However, we must note that the drinking water recommendation of 10 µg L -1 by the WHO, which we have utilized to calculate the maximum water quality footprint, is subject to ongoing debate. Given that the detection limit for arsenic in water is 1 µg L -1 , proposing a lower threshold might be impractical; however, there are indications that it is only below this limit that there are no more health risks calculable 19 . In Denmark and New Jersey 19 , for example, the threshold is set at least at 5 µg L -1 , while in the Netherlands 19 attempts are being made to go below 1 µg L 1 , which would double or increase the maximum calculated water quality footprint tenfold. We present a scenario in which the entire annual cobalt production from Bou Azzer is allocated to the production of electric cars. Despite this assumption, we consider this scenario to be realistic, given that the cobalt from Bou Azzer can only supply a fraction of the total number of electric cars produced worldwide and because there is an increasing demand for cobalt for electric cars 5,6,20–23 . Overall, there is a high probability that the cobalt will be used for this purpose supporting the presented scenario. Against this background, we classify the water quality footprint as directionally sound in order to clearly show the extent and severity of water pollution in Wadi Alougoum associated with foreign supply chains contrasting with the prevailing water scarcity for the local population. 2.3 Mine water pollution in light of due diligence in supply chains In the present case of arsenic leakage from the Bou Azzer Mine related to the production of electric cars for the Western market, three things are important: Firstly, our calculations reveal an example of problem shifting caused by a technology that is supposed to reduce environmental impacts; secondly, the arsenic crisis in Wadi Alougoum has been known for at least 25 years; and thirdly, our conclusions highlight weaknesses in CDDG and CSRD supply chain legislation, particularly in addressing water-related risks. Electric cars are considered more environmentally friendly than their combustion engine alternatives and are intended to contribute to a reduction in harmful CO 2 emissions, primarily used in Western industrialized nations. In the scenario presented, the demand for cobalt for car batteries thereby triggers water pollution in Wadi Alougoum or at least contributes to it, given that a number of assumptions has been made. This could mean that the environmental issue of climate warming is reduced, but shifted towards the environmental issues of water pollution and water scarcity. The attribution of these issues to electric cars, through an increased demand for cobalt, is crucial for assessing the total environmental performance of this climate-friendly technology, even though cobalt mining in Bou Azzer is not new. The Bou Azzer mine is operating since 1930 and has been subject to research at least since 1999 11 documenting a long history of arsenic pollution in the region. During the scientific investigations in 1999, measures were already suggested on how to reduce arsenic leakage from the mine. We can only speculate whether the proposed measures had little effect or were inadequately implemented. Also, other natural influences cannot be entirely ruled out. However, it is interesting that the concentrations measured more recently, to which our study refers, closely match what would be expected through leaching from the tailings dams 11 . Against this backdrop, urgent action is not only needed in Bou Azzer to address the longstanding continuous pollution of the Wadi Allougoum, but the new supply chain laws also provide a new framework for action. The CDDG sets out various due diligence obligations that companies with at least 1,000 employees in Germany and at least 400 million in annual sales have had to comply with since 2024, including carrying out regular risk analyses. As part of a risk analysis, a company is obliged to assess human rights and environmental risks and to weight and prioritise them appropriately. A human rights risk within the meaning of the German law is a situation in which, based on actual circumstances with sufficient probability a violation of defined prohibitions is imminent. In the case of the arsenic pollution of the Wadi Alougoum described here, the prohibition of causing harmful water pollution that significantly impairs the natural basis for the preservation and production of food, denies a person’s access to safe drinking water or harms a person's health is relevant. In that sense, water pollution by arsenic seems to fit into these risk categories, although environmental risks caused by arsenic are not explicitly specified in the legal text. The wording of the recently adopted European CSRD is quite similar and does not contain any additional regulations regarding water pollution 24,25 . Whether the German company in the case described is in breach of the CDDG is still being investigated and is not the subject of this paper. Instead, we want to highlight with the presentation of the water quality footprint of Bou Azzer that a) establishing a legal framework is only the first step towards increased due diligence; concrete measures should now be derived and, in particular, implemented by companies, also in the present case of the Bou Azzer mine, b) water pollution by arsenic in Wadi Alougoum may affect the natural basis for food production, restrict access to clean drinking water and jeopardise health, which we understand to be human rights risk. While water pollution is not addressed explicitly as an environmental risk within the existing legal frameworks for Germany and the EU, it occurs on a large scale and has relevant impacts on the availability of clean freshwater for human and nature; an improved management would need to specify monitoring methods and thresholds to effectively reduce water pollution from a comprehensive hydrological perspective, c) the water quality footprint is a suitable tool for monitoring water quality related impacts along supply chains 10,26 ; it can be used in conjunction with other appropriate indicators in conducting risk assessments, and we recommend the inclusion of such indicators in the CDDG and CSRD. Comprehensive environmental assessments relying on a minimum number of environmental indicators are also suitable and necessary for identifying and avoiding problem shifting by climate-friendly technologies 27 . Conclusion Here, we present for the first time the water quality footprint of cobalt mining in the Wadi Alougoum, Morocco, as part of the electric car supply chain where cobalt is needed for the production of batteries. Per electric car, 30 to 570 m 3 of virtual dilution volume would be needed to dilute the contamination of the downstream Sidi Blal River with arsenic, which is proven to leach from the tailings dams of the cobalt mine, to levels that no longer exceed internationally recognized safe limits. This exceeds the physical water consumption of electric car production by a multiple and corresponds, in terms of the annual total amount of produced cobalt, to the capacity of one of the world's largest seawater desalination plants. The case should serve as example for indirect contributions to regional scarcity of clean freshwater along supply chains and sensitize for the need to fulfil responsibility within supply chains actively, as our results demonstrate that severe water pollution may continue to occur within supply chains despite efforts towards greater due diligence. We call for prompt implementation of concrete measures in the present case to relieve the local population and in the context of CDDG and CSRD legislation. Water pollution should be explicitly included among the environmental risks there, along with monitoring indicators and target values. The water quality footprint is a possible tool to monitor impacts on the availability of clean freshwater and results can be used to concretely specify actions and measure their contribution to meet not only due diligence requirements in supply chains, but also achieve greater overall ecological sustainability. Materials and Methods 4.1 Geological and Hydrological Setting The Bou Azzer cobalt mine, operating since 1930, is located 120 km south of Ouarzazate in the Anti-Atlas Mountains of Central Morocco in an established mining area with global importance. The region has a long history, well known for its production of cobalt and other minerals, dating back nearly 100 years. The productive mineral association is represented by the predominant Ni-Co-Fe arsenides, i. e. skutterudite, smaltite-chloanthite, rammelsbergite, niccolite, krutovite, safflorite, etc.) 28 . The Wadi Alougoum flows through the fenced southern area of the Bou Azzer mine with the different types of tailings. Several dams built into the fenced Wadi, surely with the aim of retaining at least most of the eroded fine particles during the rainy season. Based on the retention capacity of the reservoirs in autumn 2023, it must be assumed that massive overflow of arsenic containing water will occur during rainfall events. Approximately 10 km downstream the mining area on the west bank of the Wadi in Zaouite Sidi Blal, lies a water retention basin for irrigation. During the rainy season, the basin is flooded with water coming from the hills with the mining area of Bou Azzer. 4.2 Virtual dilution concept The water quality footprint 9,10 is a tool to express water pollution in volumes of water and make it comparable to quantitative uses. Hereby, emissions are divided by their corresponding natural or geogenic background concentration in a water body to determine the VDV, which would be necessary to dilute the pollution to meet the geogenic background. For a substance s in a catchment area i, the VDV with demineralized water VDV s,i,dem is calculated by dividing load,s by the geogenic background concentration c geo,s per functional unit (FU) as described by Eq. 1 : $${\text{V}\text{D}\text{V}}_{\text{s},\text{i},\text{d}\text{e}\text{m}} \left[{\text{m}}^{3} {\text{F}\text{U}}^{-1}\right]=\frac{\text{l}\text{o}\text{a}\text{d},\text{s} \left[\text{k}\text{g} {\text{F}\text{U}}^{-1}\right]}{{\text{c}}_{\text{g}\text{e}\text{o},\text{s}} \left[\text{k}\text{g} {\text{m}}^{-3} \right]}$$ 1 Here, the substance under consideration is arsenic and the catchment area is Sidi Blal (SB). The FU is the provision of an electric car with the cobalt extracted from the Bou Azzer mine. To calculate this, we first calculate the total arsenic load of the water body per year resulting from the emissions of the mine into the water body. 4.3 Determination of arsenic load For the calculation of the VDV, the arsenic load of the receiving water body resulting from leakage from the Bou Azzer mine is needed. As the water quality footprint approach was specifically designed for LCA applications, where the quantity of an emission per reference unit, here arsenic per produced electric car, is usually known. In this example, the quantity is not directly known to us and we rely on different methods to estimate and derive the arsenic load per year (Table 1 ): First , available tailing material and experimental data of the Bou Azzer mine from Berdouzi 1999 11 are used as more recent data on tailings material is not available in the literature. As the mining process with its permanent new tailing formation has not changed essentially in the last 25 years, the data still forms a solid basis for a first estimate. Results of leaching experiments with deionized water and tailing material demonstrated the dimension of wash out risk of arsenic 11 . After five weeks concentration up to 10 mg l − 1 arsenic dissolved have been detected. This has to be seen existence of a risk of pollution from inhibition and percolation water through the tailings. If the dams in the Wadi are overflooded, the Wadi below the mine, including the rainwater retention basin in Zaouite Sidi Blal, will be contaminated. Assuming 84 mm of precipitation per year, Berdouzi 1999 11 concludes, that more than 700 kg of arsenic are dissolved from the tailings per year, contrasting with only 25 kg of arsenic bound to particles being eroded from the tailings per year. Second , during an excursion German journalists collected three water samples in the Wadi Alougoum catchment near the mine with appropriate technical instruction on 31st of October and first of November 2023 (exact coordinates in brackets): 1. Reference sample from a local drinking water well without direct mining influence ca. 10 km west of the mining area (30.526739, -7.020356) 2. Sample some 100 meters from the Wadi outlet of the mining area in a water-flooded depression of the Wadi (30.517946, -6.929993) 3. Sample from the Zaouite Sidi Blal (Fig. 4 ) water retention basin (30.484081, -6.973220) The samples filtered on site by 0.45 µm syringe filtration and transported to the water-analytical laboratory at the Helmholtz-Centre for environmental research Magdeburg, Germany. The filtered samples acidified with nitric acid. Arsenic and other trace elements have been determined according to the DIN EN ISO 17294-2:2017 − 01 29 with an ICP-MS/MS 8800 from Agilent, USA. Arsenic concentration in the filtrate of the reference sample was approx. 10 µg l − 1 . In the sample some 100 meters from the Wadi outlet of the mining area in a water-flooded depression of the Wadi, 18,000 µg l − 1 of dissolved arsenic was detected. Compared to the reference value this is a clear indication, that the sample is influenced by mining activities. However, as water is only transported downstream in the Wadi valley during rain events and is therefore diluted, the high concentration measurement is not suitable for further assessments. In the Zaouite Sidi Blal water retention basin for irrigation, filled during the flooded Wadi period, 420 µg l − 1 of dissolved arsenic have been determined. Arsenic load is calculated from the concentration through multiplication with the total discharge of the river Sidi Blal per year which is determined as 2,082,320 m 3 a − 1 from the global hydrological modelling framework WaterGAP2 16 . Third , a recent measurement from a France analytical laboratory LAB EAU from July 2023 is available, where a sample from the Zaouite Sidi Blal water retention basin (30.484081, -6.973220) has been analysed. It is 416 µg/l and hence agrees with the analytical results from 31st of October and first of November 2023. Table 1 Different approaches to calculate the arsenic load caused by the Bou Azzer mine per year. As: arsenic. Approach No Description Value Unit 1 Experimental data from tailing material As emission from Bou Azzer per year 0.7 t a − 1 As load 700 kg a − 1 2 Measurement of As water concentration I As concentration in retention basin Zaouite Sidi Blal 0.00042 kg m − 3 Discharge river Sidi Blal 2082320 m 3 a − 1 As load 875 kg a − 1 3 Measurement of As water concentration II As concentration in retention basin Zaouite Sidi Blal 0.00042 kg m − 3 Discharge river Sidi Blal 2082320 m 3 a − 1 As load 875 kg a − 1 4.4 Further data Geogenic background concentration is the naturally occurring concentration of a certain substance in a body of water without taking into account any human influence. It is largely determined by the surrounding rock and its composition, meaning that large regional differences can occur. Arsenic, for example, is naturally elevated in water bodies in India resulting from the influence of the Himalayan Mountains 30 . An equally naturally elevated arsenic load in water bodies can not be automatically assumed for Morocco 3 , but the arsenic-rich geology in the Wagi Alougoum likely has some influence. However, it is hardly possible to determine where the natural influence ends and the anthropogenic influence begins, especially not after a 100-year history of extracting and processing arsenic-containing rocks. Wherever ores contain arsenic alongside the target metal, this arsenic is mobilised by the mining activities and either ends up in the overburden during excavation or, following extraction of the target metal, is present in wastewater directed to tailings dams. Various processes, if inadequately managed in these heaps and tailings dams, can result in arsenic finding its way into surface water. Under the assumption of no elevated natural arsenic background in Moroccan waters, the international drinking water threshold of 0.00001 kg m − 3 suggested by the World Health Organisation 31 is taken as geogenic background concentration. In order to take into account the large uncertainties in the determination of natural background concentrations we also use an elevated value, identified as 0.0002 kg m − 3 for Moroccan waters 32 , to calculate a minimum water quality footprint. The number of potentially produced electric vehicles is calculated at 142,518 from the median cobalt production of the Bou Azzer mine, specified as 1,924 kt per year, under the assumption that one electric car requires 13.5 kg cobalt. We have calculated this median from a series of studies that state the cobalt content per car battery as 12 kg 4 , 13.5 kg 5 , 14 kg according to Argonne National Laboratory 6 , 5 to 20 kg 7 and 15 to 26 kg calculated from battery cell life cycle inventories 8 and the assumption of a battery weight of 300 to 500 kg. The total annual water availability in Morocco is 29,000 million m 3 according to Aquastat 33 and the Douria desalination plant has a nominal capacity of 75 million m 3 per year ( https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/06/276029/morocco-seawater-desalination-station ). The analysis protocol (dated 22/05/2023) of a soil sample taken 10 m from the Wadi bank in Sidi Blal (30°28'43.2''N 6°58'43.5''W), in which 176 µg g − 1 arsenic have been detected, can be obtained from the Laboratoire d'analyses d'eau, d'air et de surfaces (LAB EAU). Declarations Data availability statement All data that were calculated or compiled throughout this study are listed under Materials and Methods including the primary sources. The production figures of Bou Azzer are taken from the database Mining Intelligence (https://www.miningintelligence.com/, license for Mining Intelligence 2018 purchased by University of Kassel). Author Contributions A.C.S. and W.v.T. are responsible for the conceptual elaboration, carried out the analyses and wrote the main paper. E.K. provided data. A.C.S. created the figures. W.v.T. and S.B. extensively reviewed the manuscript. Acknowledgement Thanks to the journalists C. Izoard, S. Pittelkow and B. Strunz (Norddeutscher Rundfunk, NDR), we became aware of the problem. The necessary arsenic analyses were only possible due to their research linked with water sampling in the mining region and the transport of samples to the Central water laboratory at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ and the LAB EAU. Competing Interests The authors declare no competing interest. References Mukherjee, A., Bhattacharya, P., Savage, K., Foster, A. & Bundschuh, J. Distribution of geogenic arsenic in hydrologic systems: Controls and challenges. J. Contam. Hydrol. 99 , 1–7 (2008). Ahoulé, D. G., Lalanne, F., Mendret, J., Brosillon, S. & Maïga, A. H. Arsenic in African Waters: A Review. Water. Air. Soil Pollut. 226 , (2015). Shukla, P. R. et al. Climate Change 2022, Mitigation of Climate Change Summary for Policymakers (SPM) . Cambridge University Press (2022). Emilsson, E. & Dahllöf, L. Lithium-Ion Vehicle Battery Production, C444, IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute . (2019). IEA - International Energy Agency. 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Earth Environ. 4 , 1–14 (2023). Berdouzi, E. H. ETUDE DE LA DISPERSION DES POLLUANTS MINERAUX AUTOUR DE LA MINE DE BOU-AZZER ( ANTI - ATLAS CENTRAL, MAROC). (1999). Jursova, S., Burchart-Korol, D. & Pustejovska, P. Carbon footprint and water footprint of electric vehicles and batteries charging in view of various sources of power supply in the Czech Republic. Environ. - MDPI 6 , 1–11 (2019). Mudd, G. M. Global trends and environmental issues in nickel mining: Sulfides versus laterites. Ore Geol. Rev. 38 , 9–26 (2010). Schomberg, A., Mostert, C. & Bringezu, S. Environmental footprints show the savings potential of high reparability through modular smartphone design. 1–27 (2023). Hirich, A., Choukr-Allah, R., Nrhira, A., Malki, M. & Bouchaou, L. Contribution of seawater desalination to cope with water scarcity in Souss-Massa Region in Southern Morocco. in The Souss‐Massa River Basin, Morocco 213–226 (2017). Flörke, M. et al. Domestic and industrial water uses of the past 60 years as a mirror of socio-economic development: A global simulation study. Glob. Environ. Chang. 23 , 144–156 (2013). Kapaj, S., Peterson, H., Liber, K. & Bhattacharya, P. Human health effects from chronic arsenic poisoning - A review. J. Environ. Sci. Heal. - Part A Toxic/Hazardous Subst. Environ. Eng. 41 , 2399–2428 (2006). Finnegan, P. M. & Chen, W. Arsenic toxicity: The effects on plant metabolism. Front. Physiol. 3 JUN , 1–18 (2012). Ahmad, A. & Bhattacharya, P. Arsenic in Drinking Water: Is 10 μg/L a Safe Limit? Curr. Pollut. Reports 5 , 1–3 (2019). Zhang, C., Yan, J. & You, F. Critical metal requirement for clean energy transition: A quantitative review on the case of transportation electrification. Adv. Appl. Energy 9 , 100116 (2023). Olivetti, E. A., Ceder, G., Gaustad, G. G. & Fu, X. Lithium-Ion Battery Supply Chain Considerations: Analysis of Potential Bottlenecks in Critical Metals. Joule 1 , 229–243 (2017). Campbell, G. A. The cobalt market revisited. Miner. Econ. 33 , 21–28 (2020). Alves Dias, P., Blagoeva, D., Pavel, C. & Arvanitidis, N. Cobalt: demand-supply balances in the transition to electric mobility. EUR 29381 EN, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2018, ISBN 978-92-79-94311-9, doi:10.2760/97710, JRC112285. EUR 29381 EN, Publications Office of the European Union (2018). doi:10.2760/97710 EU - European Commission. Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence and amending Directive (EU) 2019/1937 . European Commission 0051 , (2022). EU - European Commission. ANNEX to the Proposal for an EU Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence . (2022). Schomberg, A. A., Pommerenke, V., Bringezu, S. & Brien, M. B. Warum Verschmutzung auch Verknappung bedeutet . (2024). Schomberg, A. C., Bringezu, S., Flörke, M. & Biederbick, H. Spatially explicit life cycle assessments reveal hotspots of environmental impacts from renewable electricity generation. Commun. Earth Environ. 3 , 1–14 (2022). Maacha, L. et al. Arsenide deposits of the Bou Azzer ore district (Anti-Atlas metallogenic province) and their economic outlook. Tuvienr Sb Ras 65 (2015). Deutsches Insitut für Normung e. V. Wasserbeschaffenheit – Anwendung der induktiv gekoppelten Plasma-Massenspektrometrie (ICP-MS) – Teil 2: Bestimmung von ausgewählten Elementen einschließlich Uran-Isotope (ISO 17294-2:2016); Deutsche . (2017). Sankhla, M. S., Kumar, R. & Agrawal, P. Arsenic in Water Contamination & Toxic Effect on Human Health : Current Scenario of India. J. Forensic Sci. Crim. Investig. 10 , 1–5 (2018). WHO. A global overview of national regulations and standards for drinking-water quality . (2018). doi:10.3923/ijar.2011.347.357 Hachimi, M. E. L. L. et al. Impact d’un site minier abandonné sur l’environnement : cas de la mine de Zeïda (Haute Moulouya, Maroc). Bull. l’Institut Sci. Rabat, Sect. Sci. la Terre 27 , 93–100 (2005). FAO. AQUASTAT Database. (2022). Available at: http://www.fao.org/aquastat. (Accessed: 1st August 2022) Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4359549","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":301144594,"identity":"5f5228cf-a0b5-49c0-9dc0-dba7db44c142","order_by":0,"name":"Anna Schomberg","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3619-0841","institution":"University of Kassel","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Anna","middleName":"","lastName":"Schomberg","suffix":""},{"id":301144595,"identity":"c7dcd675-9eec-4c77-b7a2-611900f86b72","order_by":1,"name":"Wolf von Tümpling","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Wolf","middleName":"","lastName":"von Tümpling","suffix":""},{"id":301144596,"identity":"1079f21b-3149-4859-94f3-45496e7534cd","order_by":2,"name":"Ellen Kynast","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Kassel","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ellen","middleName":"","lastName":"Kynast","suffix":""},{"id":301144597,"identity":"2a74f38d-4dc0-4bb0-b818-ef5cb8f2def6","order_by":3,"name":"Stefan Bringezu","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8745-984X","institution":"Kassel University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Stefan","middleName":"","lastName":"Bringezu","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-05-02 13:57:15","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4359549/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4359549/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":56429690,"identity":"a37f5593-45f5-4e4b-a594-c347884ac532","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-05-14 05:45:27","extension":"png","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":62323,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eWater quality footprint from virtual dilution in comparison to physical water use for the production of one electric car. The range for the water quality footprint is given due to various uncertainties. The dashed line and question mark should emphasize that the water quality footprint was calculated from the arsenic emissions of one single cobalt mine in the entire supply chain of the electric car and is presumably considerably higher overall. *Data from Jursova et al. 2019.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4359549/v1/9a99fbf5a3ba26bd05515634.png"},{"id":56429689,"identity":"794f1d76-4a8a-4a9b-af39-cf0b013ebf9f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-05-14 05:45:27","extension":"png","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":62651,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eWater quality footprint of annual arsenic leakage from Bou Azzer. It is given as minimum (min) and maximum value (max; blue framed bars) and compared to the annual capacity of the seawater desalination plant Douria (left) and the annual freshwater availability of Morocco (right; blue filled bars) \u003cu\u003eon a logarithmic scale\u003c/u\u003e. The proportion of the framed bars to the respective filled bar, which corresponds to 100 %, is shown as a percentage above the bar. The thought bubble symbol refers to virtual volumes (framed bars), the droplet symbol to physical volumes (filled bars). WQF: water quality footprint; ann.: annual; capac.: capacity; avail.: availability.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"2.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4359549/v1/869566a2d012e7edf9b446c1.png"},{"id":56429692,"identity":"82534325-4583-424a-8a56-b9445636db91","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-05-14 05:45:28","extension":"png","order_by":3,"title":"Figure 3","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":55947,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eSensitivity analysis for the virtual dilution volume due to arsenic contamination. The virtual dilution volume is the indicator the water quality footprint is expressed in and depends on the two variables arsenic load (load\u003csub\u003eAs\u003c/sub\u003e) and geogenic background concentration (c\u003csub\u003egeo,As\u003c/sub\u003e). Details in the methodological section. Dotted values have been modelled. As: arsenic.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"3.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4359549/v1/3a1d784e01189d88b839f8fc.png"},{"id":56429691,"identity":"73b668fc-1c87-45e8-ad0e-9014233cca50","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-05-14 05:45:27","extension":"png","order_by":4,"title":"Figure 4","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":687649,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eSentinel image of the Bou Azzer mine and the surrounding water regime and settlement areas in false colours. The Bou Azzer mine is located in the upper right corner. The Zaouite Sidi Blal rainwater retention basin, where one of the water samples referred to in this paper was taken, is located in the area of the orange square.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"4.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4359549/v1/fe8032a291dd1cad35e9ae6c.png"},{"id":56430012,"identity":"2621e36d-7315-425d-8726-befea1a2e8a1","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-05-14 05:53:28","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1489192,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4359549/v1/9b331e20-fc7e-411d-9544-a8f5561910d8.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"There is \u003cb\u003eNO\u003c/b\u003e Competing Interest.","formattedTitle":"Arsenic leakage crisis in electric car supply chain: water quality footprint of cobalt mining demands action","fulltext":[{"header":"Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eTo address and fulfill responsibility for supply chains, the Act on Corporate Due Diligence Obligations in Supply Chains (CDDG) came into force in Germany on January, 1\u003csup\u003est\u003c/sup\u003e\u0026nbsp; 2023 (https://www.bmz.de). It was essentially developed in line with the European Corporate Due Diligence (CDD) taking into account EU requirements and discussions on similar regulations at European level. It aims to oblige companies to comply with due diligence obligations regarding environmental and social standards along their supply chains. The\u0026nbsp;in March 2024 adopted ‘Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive’ (CSDDD) will exacerbate the need for companies inside and outside the EU to promote the establishment of sustainable and conscientious corporate conduct and to embed considerations of human rights and environmental factors within companies’ operational frameworks and corporate governance (https://commission.europa.eu/).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTowards the end of 2023, German, French and Moroccan media questioned a German company’s compliance with the CDDG prompted by the discovery of greatly increased arsenic concentrations in water and urine samples below and in the surrounding of a cobalt mine in Morocco, from which the company sources cobalt for the construction of batteries for electric cars. Serious arsenic poisoning from naturally contaminated drinking water due to geological conditions may well represent one of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time. Found in drinking water sources across over thirty nations and affecting over 100 million people, the issue has been described as the most extensive case of mass poisoning in human history\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e. In the present case of the cobalt mine, however, it must be assumed that no natural circumstances, but leakage from the cobalt mine is responsible for elevated arsenic levels in the affected water bodies\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e used by the local population as drinking water source, for the irrigation of agricultural land and for watering livestock. Considering the high toxicity of arsenic for humans and ecosystems, the situation should be regarded as critical.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe present instance is particularly relevant as cobalt from the considered mine contributes to the production of batteries for electric vehicles which are supposed to have the greatest climate protection potential of all land-based transport technologies in combination with low-emission electricity\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e. For electricity storage, there is a broad social and political consensus that e-mobility for passenger cars should be realised using rechargeable Lithium-ion batteries requiring 5 to 26 kg of cobalt, respectively today\u003csup\u003e4–8\u003c/sup\u003e. \u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe use this as an opportunity to calculate for the first time the water quality footprint of arsenic leakage of the Moroccan cobalt mine and attribute it to the production of electric cars. Our calculations represent a potential scenario in which all the cobalt produced annually is used for the construction of electric car batteries. Thus, we aim to illustrate potentially health-damaging water pollution and establish the connection to the production of environmental friendly intended electric cars for the Western market through the supply chain. Also, we question the scope of the CDDG related to water issues. We emphasize that we do not assess the legal implications of the arsenic pollution nor attribute the water quality footprints to a specific electric car manufacturer, as we have not conducted a supply chain analysis in this regard.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Results","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe water quality footprint is calculated using the VDV approach where the load of an emitted pollutant substance is divided by the natural concentration of this substance in the receiving water body\u003csup\u003e9,10\u003c/sup\u003e. The applied method was specifically designed for application within Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), where the quantity of an emission per reference unit, e. g. arsenic per kg of cobalt produced, is usually known. As this quantity is not directly known to us in the example of Bou Azzer, we present various methods to estimate and derive it from other information. As the natural concentration of arsenic in the receiving water body downstream the Bou Azzer mine, the river Sidi Blal, is not easy to determine and can only be estimated and, more important, as the uncertainties associated with the natural geogenic background concentration of arsenic are high, we present a range for the resulting water quality footprint. The method of the water quality footprint is a volumetric approach designed to compare virtual dilution volumes, not applied in reality, to physical volumes of water to illustrate the contribution of water pollution to the scarcity of clean freshwater. Reported per electric car, assuming that the total production of cobalt is used for this purpose, the approach is used to attribute local water pollution to foreign supply chains and illustrate its extent in comparison to physical uses.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.1 Water quality footprint of arsenic leakage per electric car\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor comparison and verification, arsenic load is determined with two different approaches: 1) experimentally determined leaching from the tailings material of Bou Azzer cobalt mine from the literature\u003csup\u003e11\u003c/sup\u003e is multiplied with annual precipitation and 2) arsenic concentration determined from recently taken water samples in a retention basin below the mine is multiplied with the annual discharge of Sidi Blal, considering two different data sets for the second approach. As all three approaches and data provide very similar results, we will focus on the results from the second approach conducted by the authors of this study themselves in the following.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe water quality footprint of arsenic leakage from the Bou Azzer mine is 30 to 610 m\u003csup\u003e3\u0026nbsp;\u003c/sup\u003eper production of one electric car, under the assumption that all cobalt produced by the mine flows into the manufacture of car batteries (Fig. 1). The margin results from the assumption of a naturally elevated background concentration of arsenic in the Sidi Blal river to take account for uncertainties, respectively the assumption of no elevated level resembling an international target concentration of arsenic for drinking water.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn contrast, for example, the physical water footprint of the entire production of an electric car is 120 m\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e (Fig. 1)\u003csup\u003e12\u003c/sup\u003e. Related to a physical water consumption of cobalt mining of 13.5 m\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e,\u0026nbsp;the water quality footprint is at least as large, but it can also exceed it by up to forty five times,\u0026nbsp;assuming a median of 13.5 kg of cobalt needed for one electric car battery (see Materials and Methods) and estimating a freshwater use of\u0026nbsp;1 m\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e per kilogram of cobalt\u003csup\u003e13\u003c/sup\u003e, as also documented by the Cobalt Institute (https://www.cobaltinstitute.org/).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1.2 \u0026nbsp;Water quality footprint of arsenic leakage per year\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe water quality footprint per year or per total number of electrified cars produced per year with the cobalt from Bou Azzer, i. e. 150,000 cars and 2 kt cobalt, equals 4 to 87 million cubic meters. This amount of water, which would virtually be required to restore the original water quality around Bou Azzer, accounts for 0.02 to 0.30 % of the total annual availability of freshwater in Morocco, fossil water not included, and for more than 5 to nearly 120 % of the amount of freshwater produced annually by one of the world\u0026apos;s largest seawater desalination plants, Douria in Agadir, Morocco (Fig. 2).\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe would like to point out here that the shares on the total annual water availability of Morocco may seem small, but the fact that the share here is near the percentage range at all is remarkable. After all, we are talking about the contribution of just one single mine in the supply chain of the electric cars under consideration compared to the water availability of an entire country.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1.3 \u0026nbsp; Uncertainty analysis\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe have calculated the arsenic load in different ways and with different data, with all methods giving very similar results and only a small range of variance. While it is possible to quantify the variance of the measured arsenic concentrations in the laboratory with less than\u0026nbsp;3\u0026nbsp;%, this is less critical for determining the overall uncertainty of the water quality footprint, as we utilize a single point measurement, among others, to estimate the arsenic emissions from the entire mine for one year. Instead, we employ a sensitivity analysis (Fig. 3) to elucidate the significance of changes in influencing factors. The geogenic background concentration has the strongest influence on the result of the water quality footprint\u003csup\u003e10\u003c/sup\u003e. We thus computed footprints with both an elevated and a non-elevated background. Calculating with an elevated level results in a 95 % lower water quality footprint due to the high sensitivity. However, an anthropogenic, and not naturally, elevated level is more likely for the Wadi Alougoum, which is why this should be considered a minimum water quality footprint.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e2.1 \u0026nbsp; Dimension of the water quality footprint in different contexts\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cu\u003eSupply chain context:\u003c/u\u003e Under the assumption of reliable arsenic concentrations,30 to610 m\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e virtual dilution water are required per produced electric car. The latter more than doubles quantitative water footprints for electric cars from the literature\u003csup\u003e12\u003c/sup\u003e, although it is still a minimum water quality footprint: we are talking about the contribution of a single mine and one selected substance in the entire electric car supply chain. It is therefore expected that the overall water quality footprint across the entire supply chain is significantly higher, also in comparison to the quantitative use\u003csup\u003e9,14\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cu\u003eWater stress context:\u003c/u\u003e We have to emphasize that, if referenced to one year, this single impact alone already accounts for 0.3 % of the annually hydrologically available water in Morocco. It also corresponds to 1.2 times the annual production volume of one of the world\u0026apos;s largest seawater desalination plants in Morocco, actually intended to cover increasing irrigation demands and to support Morocco\u0026rsquo;s limited water resources\u003csup\u003e15\u003c/sup\u003e. When considering the water situation at the watershed level, to which the Wadi Alougoum belongs, initially no water stress is observed.\u0026nbsp;This is an effect of the scale dependency of hydrological variables: the\u0026nbsp;reference units of water stress calculations are usually river catchment areas and water stress can be expressed, for example, as a withdrawal-to-availability ratio by dividing human water use by the total water availability on this reference unit. The background is that in reality, human water usage is often not limited to specific point sources but is organized within a watershed as part of historically developed water management concepts. In the WaterGAP2 hydrological model\u003csup\u003e16\u003c/sup\u003e, for example, catchment areas have a size of no more than 20,000 km\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e. The Wadi Alougoum is also part of such a catchment area and drains into the Oued Ouhmidi River, which drains via the Oued Zguid River and finally into the Oued Draa, one of the largest rivers in Morocco. This catchment area does not show any arithmetical water stress overall. However, in this case, since the local population of Wadi Alougoum is not supplied with water from distant sources but relies on local water sources\u003csup\u003e11\u003c/sup\u003e, the situation must also be assessed locally.\u0026nbsp;The\u0026nbsp;Wadi Alougoum is an extremely arid region with less than 100 mm of rainfall per year,\u0026nbsp;a pronounced seasonal uneven distribution of rainfall and additional constraints imposed by geographical features within the Anti-Atlas mountain region, resulting in a very low natural water availability\u003csup\u003e11\u003c/sup\u003e.\u0026nbsp;Leakage and pollution are hence major impacts on the local water resources and are fuelling the scarcity of clean water in Wadi Alougoum for both humans and nature. This case also supports the demand that water footprint analyses should be conducted at the highest possible resolution\u003csup\u003e9\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cu\u003eLocal context:\u003c/u\u003e Locally, high arsenic concentrations are an extreme hazard if polluted water is used as drinking water, for livestock watering or crop irrigation. Continuous intake of arsenic through contaminated drinking water can lead to a range of medical consequences, from hyperpigmentation and keratosis to an increased risk of various types of cancer and impacts on verbal IQ and long-term memory, as well as fetal loss, premature delivery, and low birth weight\u003csup\u003e17\u003c/sup\u003e. The latter risks can occur even at low arsenic concentrations in drinking water of less than 10 \u0026micro;g L\u003csup\u003e-1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003csub\u003e,\u0026nbsp;\u003c/sub\u003ewhile 420 \u0026micro;g L\u003csup\u003e-1\u0026nbsp;\u003c/sup\u003ehave been detected in the water retention basin flooded during the rainy season by surface water from the Wadi. Around the year 2000, approximately 47,000 people lived in the Wadi Alougoum, with 1,480 hectares of irrigated agricultural land where arsenic is introduced through the use of water from the Wadi. \u0026nbsp;In a soil sample taken 10 m from the Wadi bank in Sidi Blal (30\u0026deg;28\u0026apos;43.2\u0026apos;\u0026apos;N 6\u0026deg;58\u0026apos;43.5\u0026apos;\u0026apos;W), 176 \u0026micro;g g\u003csup\u003e-1\u003c/sup\u003e arsenic was detected. According to the German Federal Soil Protection and Contaminated Sites Ordinance his is near the limit for the transfer of pollutants from soil to crop more than three times higher than the action value for the transfer of pollutants from soil to the grasslands (https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bbodschv_2023/BBodSchV.pdf). Arsenic in irrigation water can exert toxic effects on plants\u003csup\u003e18\u003c/sup\u003e, leading to reduced plant growth and ultimately yield losses, with subsequent transfer to humans through consumption. In this setting, every single cubic meter of water counts to ensure the supply security for the local population and ecosystems.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e2.2 \u0026nbsp;Assumptions and limitations\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe water quality footprint is based on the concept of virtual dilution and does not represent an actual volume of water consumed. Instead, it illustrates the impact of water pollution on water availability compared to physical uses and can be particularly useful for attribution along supply chains.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn determining the arsenic load, we relied on current measurements of concentrations in a retention basin below the Bou Azzer mine and compared these with calculations based on geology. As the results closely align, we assume that other effects that may play a role in arsenic input, such as wind-borne deposition and bedrock pollution, are negligible. Seasonal and spatial distribution patterns were not considered due to the scope of our study, focusing on attributing arsenic pollution and the water quality footprint to the electric cars produced with the cobalt obtained. Our results represent a potential scenario in which all the cobalt produced annually in Bou Azzer is used for the construction of electric car batteries.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs the water quality footprint is highly sensitive to the geogenic background concentration, we have also considered an elevated level due to the mineral composition of the basement in the wadi Alougoum, even if no elevated background has been reported for Morocco as a whole to date, herein accounting for potential natural arsenic sources, to calculate a minimum water quality footprint. However, we must note that the drinking water recommendation of 10 \u0026micro;g L\u003csup\u003e-1\u003c/sup\u003e by the WHO, which we have utilized to calculate the maximum water quality footprint, is subject to ongoing debate. Given that the detection limit for arsenic in water is 1 \u0026micro;g L\u003csup\u003e-1\u003c/sup\u003e, proposing a lower threshold might be impractical; however, there are indications that it is only below this limit that there are no more health risks calculable\u003csup\u003e19\u003c/sup\u003e. In Denmark and New Jersey\u003csup\u003e19\u003c/sup\u003e, for example, the threshold is set at least at 5 \u0026micro;g L\u003csup\u003e-1\u003c/sup\u003e, while in the Netherlands\u003csup\u003e19\u003c/sup\u003e attempts are being made to go below 1 \u0026micro;g L\u003csup\u003e1\u003c/sup\u003e, which would double or increase the maximum calculated water quality footprint tenfold.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe present a scenario in which the entire annual cobalt production from Bou Azzer is allocated to the production of electric cars. Despite this assumption, we consider this scenario to be realistic, given that the cobalt from Bou Azzer can only supply a fraction of the total number of electric cars produced worldwide and because there is an increasing demand for cobalt for electric cars\u003csup\u003e5,6,20\u0026ndash;23\u003c/sup\u003e. Overall, there is a high probability that the cobalt will be used for this purpose supporting the presented scenario.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAgainst this background, we classify the water quality footprint as directionally sound in order to clearly show the extent and severity of water pollution in Wadi Alougoum associated with foreign supply chains contrasting with the prevailing water scarcity for the local population.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e2.3 \u0026nbsp; Mine water pollution in light of due diligence in supply chains\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the present case of arsenic leakage from the Bou Azzer Mine related to the production of electric cars for the Western market, three things are important: Firstly, our calculations reveal an example of problem shifting caused by a technology that is supposed to reduce environmental impacts; secondly, the arsenic crisis in Wadi Alougoum has been known for at least 25 years; and thirdly, our conclusions highlight weaknesses in CDDG and CSRD supply chain legislation, particularly in addressing water-related risks.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eElectric cars are considered more environmentally friendly than their combustion engine alternatives and are intended to contribute to a reduction in harmful CO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e emissions, primarily used in Western industrialized nations. In the scenario presented, the demand for cobalt for car batteries thereby triggers water pollution in Wadi Alougoum or at least contributes to it, given that a number of assumptions has been made. This could mean that the environmental issue of climate warming is reduced, but shifted towards the environmental issues of water pollution and water scarcity. The attribution of these issues to electric cars, through an increased demand for cobalt, is crucial for assessing the total environmental performance of this climate-friendly technology, even though cobalt mining in Bou Azzer is not new.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Bou Azzer mine is operating since 1930 and has been subject to research at least since 1999\u003csup\u003e11\u003c/sup\u003e documenting a long history of arsenic pollution in the region. During the scientific investigations in 1999, measures were already suggested on how to reduce arsenic leakage from the mine. We can only speculate whether the proposed measures had little effect or were inadequately implemented. Also, other natural influences cannot be entirely ruled out. However, it is interesting that the concentrations measured more recently, to which our study refers, closely match what would be expected through leaching from the tailings dams\u003csup\u003e11\u003c/sup\u003e. Against this backdrop, urgent action is not only needed in Bou Azzer to address the longstanding continuous pollution of the Wadi Allougoum, but the new supply chain laws also provide a new framework for action.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe CDDG sets out various due diligence obligations that companies with at least 1,000 employees in Germany\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;and at least 400 million in annual sales\u0026nbsp;have had to comply with since 2024, including carrying out regular risk analyses. As part of a risk analysis, a company is obliged to assess human rights and environmental risks and to weight and prioritise them appropriately. A human rights risk within the meaning of the German law is a situation in which, based on actual circumstances with sufficient probability a violation of defined prohibitions is imminent. In the case of the arsenic pollution of the Wadi Alougoum described here, the prohibition of causing harmful water pollution\u0026nbsp;that significantly impairs the natural basis for the preservation and production of food, denies a person\u0026rsquo;s access to safe drinking water or harms a person\u0026apos;s health is relevant. In that sense, water pollution\u0026nbsp;by arsenic seems to fit into these risk categories, although environmental risks caused by arsenic are not explicitly specified in the legal text. The wording of the recently adopted European CSRD is quite similar and does not contain any additional regulations regarding water pollution\u003csup\u003e24,25\u003c/sup\u003e. Whether the German company in the case described is in breach of the CDDG is still being investigated and is not the subject of this paper. Instead, we want to highlight with the presentation of the water quality footprint of Bou Azzer that\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ea) establishing a legal framework is only the first step towards increased due diligence; concrete measures should now be derived and, in particular, implemented by companies, also in the present case of the Bou Azzer mine,\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eb) water pollution by arsenic in Wadi Alougoum may affect the natural basis for food production, restrict access to clean drinking water and jeopardise health, which we understand to be human rights risk. While water pollution is not addressed explicitly as an environmental risk within the existing legal frameworks for Germany and the EU, it occurs on a large scale and has relevant impacts on the availability of clean freshwater for human and nature; an improved management would need to specify monitoring methods and thresholds to effectively reduce water pollution from a comprehensive hydrological perspective,\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ec) the water quality footprint is a suitable tool for monitoring water quality related impacts along supply chains\u003csup\u003e10,26\u003c/sup\u003e; it can be used in conjunction with other appropriate indicators in conducting risk assessments, and we recommend the inclusion of such indicators in the CDDG and CSRD. Comprehensive environmental assessments relying on a minimum number of environmental indicators are also suitable and necessary for identifying and avoiding problem shifting by climate-friendly technologies\u003csup\u003e27\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003eHere, we present for the first time the water quality footprint of cobalt mining in the Wadi Alougoum, Morocco, as part of the electric car supply chain where cobalt is needed for the production of batteries. Per electric car, 30 to 570 m\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e of virtual dilution volume would be needed to dilute the contamination of the downstream Sidi Blal River with arsenic, which is proven to leach from the tailings dams of the cobalt mine, to levels that no longer exceed internationally recognized safe limits. This exceeds the physical water consumption of electric car production by a multiple and corresponds, in terms of the annual total amount of produced cobalt, to the capacity of one of the world's largest seawater desalination plants.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe case should serve as example for indirect contributions to regional scarcity of clean freshwater along supply chains and sensitize for the need to fulfil responsibility within supply chains actively, as our results demonstrate that severe water pollution may continue to occur within supply chains despite efforts towards greater due diligence. We call for prompt implementation of concrete measures in the present case to relieve the local population and in the context of CDDG and CSRD legislation. Water pollution should be explicitly included among the environmental risks there, along with monitoring indicators and target values. The water quality footprint is a possible tool to monitor impacts on the availability of clean freshwater and results can be used to concretely specify actions and measure their contribution to meet not only due diligence requirements in supply chains, but also achieve greater overall ecological sustainability.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Materials and Methods","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e4.1 Geological and Hydrological Setting\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Bou Azzer cobalt mine, operating since 1930, is located 120 km south of Ouarzazate in the Anti-Atlas Mountains of Central Morocco in an established mining area with global importance. The region has a long history, well known for its production of cobalt and other minerals, dating back nearly 100 years. The productive mineral association is represented by the predominant Ni-Co-Fe arsenides, i. e. skutterudite, smaltite-chloanthite, rammelsbergite, niccolite, krutovite, safflorite, etc.)\u003csup\u003e28\u003c/sup\u003e. The Wadi Alougoum flows through the fenced southern area of the Bou Azzer mine with the different types of tailings. Several dams built into the fenced Wadi, surely with the aim of retaining at least most of the eroded fine particles during the rainy season. Based on the retention capacity of the reservoirs in autumn 2023, it must be assumed that massive overflow of arsenic containing water will occur during rainfall events. Approximately 10 km downstream the mining area on the west bank of the Wadi in Zaouite Sidi Blal, lies a water retention basin for irrigation. During the rainy season, the basin is flooded with water coming from the hills with the mining area of Bou Azzer.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e4.2 Virtual dilution concept\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe water quality footprint\u003csup\u003e9,10\u003c/sup\u003e is a tool to express water pollution in volumes of water and make it comparable to quantitative uses. Hereby, emissions are divided by their corresponding natural or geogenic background concentration in a water body to determine the VDV, which would be necessary to dilute the pollution to meet the geogenic background. For a substance s in a catchment area i, the VDV with demineralized water VDV\u003csub\u003es,i,dem\u003c/sub\u003e is calculated by dividing load,s by the geogenic background concentration c\u003csub\u003egeo,s\u003c/sub\u003e per functional unit (FU) as described by Eq. \u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Equ1\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"mathdisplay\" id=\"FileID_Equ1\" name=\"EquationSource\"\u003e$${\\text{V}\\text{D}\\text{V}}_{\\text{s},\\text{i},\\text{d}\\text{e}\\text{m}} \\left[{\\text{m}}^{3} {\\text{F}\\text{U}}^{-1}\\right]=\\frac{\\text{l}\\text{o}\\text{a}\\text{d},\\text{s} \\left[\\text{k}\\text{g} {\\text{F}\\text{U}}^{-1}\\right]}{{\\text{c}}_{\\text{g}\\text{e}\\text{o},\\text{s}} \\left[\\text{k}\\text{g} {\\text{m}}^{-3} \\right]}$$\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"EquationNumber\"\u003e1\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHere, the substance under consideration is arsenic and the catchment area is Sidi Blal (SB). The FU is the provision of an electric car with the cobalt extracted from the Bou Azzer mine. To calculate this, we first calculate the total arsenic load of the water body per year resulting from the emissions of the mine into the water body.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e4.3 Determination of arsenic load\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor the calculation of the VDV, the arsenic load of the receiving water body resulting from leakage from the Bou Azzer mine is needed. As the water quality footprint approach was specifically designed for LCA applications, where the quantity of an emission per reference unit, here arsenic per produced electric car, is usually known. In this example, the quantity is not directly known to us and we rely on different methods to estimate and derive the arsenic load per year (Table \u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e):\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFirst\u003c/strong\u003e, available tailing material and experimental data of the Bou Azzer mine from Berdouzi 1999\u003csup\u003e11\u003c/sup\u003e are used as more recent data on tailings material is not available in the literature. As the mining process with its permanent new tailing formation has not changed essentially in the last 25 years, the data still forms a solid basis for a first estimate. Results of leaching experiments with deionized water and tailing material demonstrated the dimension of wash out risk of arsenic\u003csup\u003e11\u003c/sup\u003e. After five weeks concentration up to 10 mg l\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e arsenic dissolved have been detected. This has to be seen existence of a risk of pollution from inhibition and percolation water through the tailings. If the dams in the Wadi are overflooded, the Wadi below the mine, including the rainwater retention basin in Zaouite Sidi Blal, will be contaminated. Assuming 84 mm of precipitation per year, Berdouzi 1999\u003csup\u003e11\u003c/sup\u003e concludes, that more than 700 kg of arsenic are dissolved from the tailings per year, contrasting with only 25 kg of arsenic bound to particles being eroded from the tailings per year.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSecond\u003c/strong\u003e, during an excursion German journalists collected three water samples in the Wadi Alougoum catchment near the mine with appropriate technical instruction on 31st of October and first of November 2023 (exact coordinates in brackets):\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1. Reference sample from a local drinking water well without direct mining influence ca. 10 km west of the mining area (30.526739, -7.020356)\u003c/p\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2. Sample some 100 meters from the Wadi outlet of the mining area in a water-flooded depression of the Wadi (30.517946, -6.929993)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3. Sample from the Zaouite Sidi Blal (Fig. \u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e) water retention basin (30.484081, -6.973220)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe samples filtered on site by 0.45 \u0026micro;m syringe filtration and transported to the water-analytical laboratory at the Helmholtz-Centre for environmental research Magdeburg, Germany. The filtered samples acidified with nitric acid. Arsenic and other trace elements have been determined according to the DIN EN ISO 17294-2:2017\u0026thinsp;\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;01\u003csup\u003e29\u003c/sup\u003e with an ICP-MS/MS 8800 from Agilent, USA. Arsenic concentration in the filtrate of the reference sample was approx. 10 \u0026micro;g l\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e. In the sample some 100 meters from the Wadi outlet of the mining area in a water-flooded depression of the Wadi, 18,000 \u0026micro;g l\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e of dissolved arsenic was detected. Compared to the reference value this is a clear indication, that the sample is influenced by mining activities. However, as water is only transported downstream in the Wadi valley during rain events and is therefore diluted, the high concentration measurement is not suitable for further assessments. In the Zaouite Sidi Blal water retention basin for irrigation, filled during the flooded Wadi period, 420 \u0026micro;g l\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e of dissolved arsenic have been determined. Arsenic load is calculated from the concentration through multiplication with the total discharge of the river Sidi Blal per year which is determined as 2,082,320 m\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e a\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e from the global hydrological modelling framework WaterGAP2\u003csup\u003e16\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThird\u003c/strong\u003e, a recent measurement from a France analytical laboratory LAB EAU from July 2023 is available, where a sample from the Zaouite Sidi Blal water retention basin (30.484081, -6.973220) has been analysed. It is 416 \u0026micro;g/l and hence agrees with the analytical results from 31st of October and first of November 2023.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003ctable id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e\n \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eDifferent approaches to calculate the arsenic load caused by the Bou Azzer mine per year. As: arsenic.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/caption\u003e\n \u003ccolgroup cols=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\n \u003cthead\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eApproach\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/thead\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eDescription\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eValue\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eUnit\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eExperimental data from tailing material\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eAs emission from Bou Azzer per year\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.7\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003et a\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eAs load\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e700\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ekg a\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e2\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeasurement of As water concentration I\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eAs concentration in retention basin Zaouite Sidi Blal\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.00042\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ekg m\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;3\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eDischarge river Sidi Blal\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2082320\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003em\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e a\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eAs load\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e875\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ekg a\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeasurement of As water concentration II\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eAs concentration in retention basin Zaouite Sidi Blal\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.00042\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ekg m\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;3\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eDischarge river Sidi Blal\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2082320\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003em\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e a\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eAs load\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e875\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ekg a\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n \u003c/table\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e4.4 Further data\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGeogenic background concentration is the naturally occurring concentration of a certain substance in a body of water without taking into account any human influence. It is largely determined by the surrounding rock and its composition, meaning that large regional differences can occur. Arsenic, for example, is naturally elevated in water bodies in India resulting from the influence of the Himalayan Mountains\u003csup\u003e30\u003c/sup\u003e. An equally naturally elevated arsenic load in water bodies can not be automatically assumed for Morocco\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e, but the arsenic-rich geology in the Wagi Alougoum likely has some influence. However, it is hardly possible to determine where the natural influence ends and the anthropogenic influence begins, especially not after a 100-year history of extracting and processing arsenic-containing rocks. Wherever ores contain arsenic alongside the target metal, this arsenic is mobilised by the mining activities and either ends up in the overburden during excavation or, following extraction of the target metal, is present in wastewater directed to tailings dams. Various processes, if inadequately managed in these heaps and tailings dams, can result in arsenic finding its way into surface water. Under the assumption of no elevated natural arsenic background in Moroccan waters, the international drinking water threshold of 0.00001 kg m\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;3\u003c/sup\u003e suggested by the World Health Organisation\u003csup\u003e31\u003c/sup\u003e is taken as geogenic background concentration. In order to take into account the large uncertainties in the determination of natural background concentrations we also use an elevated value, identified as 0.0002 kg m\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;3\u003c/sup\u003e for Moroccan waters\u003csup\u003e32\u003c/sup\u003e, to calculate a minimum water quality footprint.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe number of potentially produced electric vehicles is calculated at 142,518 from the median cobalt production of the Bou Azzer mine, specified as 1,924 kt per year, under the assumption that one electric car requires 13.5 kg cobalt. We have calculated this median from a series of studies that state the cobalt content per car battery as 12 kg\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e, 13.5 kg\u003csup\u003e5\u003c/sup\u003e, 14 kg according to Argonne National Laboratory\u003csup\u003e6\u003c/sup\u003e, 5 to 20 kg\u003csup\u003e7\u003c/sup\u003e and 15 to 26 kg calculated from battery cell life cycle inventories\u003csup\u003e8\u003c/sup\u003e and the assumption of a battery weight of 300 to 500 kg.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe total annual water availability in Morocco is 29,000\u0026nbsp;million m\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e according to Aquastat\u003csup\u003e33\u003c/sup\u003e and the Douria desalination plant has a nominal capacity of 75 million m\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e per year (\u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/06/276029/morocco-seawater-desalination-station\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe analysis protocol (dated 22/05/2023) of a soil sample taken 10 m from the Wadi bank in Sidi Blal (30\u0026deg;28\u0026apos;43.2\u0026apos;\u0026apos;N 6\u0026deg;58\u0026apos;43.5\u0026apos;\u0026apos;W), in which 176 \u0026micro;g g\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e arsenic have been detected, can be obtained from the Laboratoire d\u0026apos;analyses d\u0026apos;eau, d\u0026apos;air et de surfaces (LAB EAU).\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003eData availability statement\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll data that were calculated or compiled throughout this study are listed under Materials and Methods including the primary sources. The production figures of Bou Azzer\u0026nbsp;are taken from the database Mining Intelligence (https://www.miningintelligence.com/, license for Mining Intelligence 2018 purchased by University of Kassel).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAuthor Contributions\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA.C.S. and W.v.T. are responsible for the conceptual elaboration, carried out the analyses and wrote the main paper. E.K. provided data. A.C.S. created the figures. W.v.T. and S.B. extensively reviewed the manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAcknowledgement\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThanks to the journalists C. Izoard, S. Pittelkow and B. Strunz (Norddeutscher Rundfunk, NDR), we became aware of the problem. The necessary arsenic analyses were only possible due to their research linked with water sampling in the mining region and the transport of samples to the Central water laboratory at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research \u0026ndash; UFZ and the\u0026nbsp;LAB EAU.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCompeting Interests\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors declare no competing interest.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eMukherjee, A., Bhattacharya, P., Savage, K., Foster, A. \u0026amp; Bundschuh, J. Distribution of geogenic arsenic in hydrologic systems: Controls and challenges. \u003cem\u003eJ. Contam. Hydrol.\u003c/em\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e99\u003c/strong\u003e, 1\u0026ndash;7 (2008).\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eAhoul\u0026eacute;, D. G., Lalanne, F., Mendret, J., Brosillon, S. \u0026amp; Ma\u0026iuml;ga, A. H. Arsenic in African Waters: A Review. \u003cem\u003eWater. Air. 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(Accessed: 1st August 2022)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4359549/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4359549/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eUncontrolled mine site leakage poses massive indirect environmental pollution, particularly when harmful substances, like arsenic, infiltrate water bodies, affecting humans. Arsenic contamination, recognized as a severe environmental catastrophe, exemplifies the water quality footprint from a Moroccan cobalt mine supplying electric car construction. Applying the water quality footprint method, we determined that 30 to 610 m\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e of virtual dilution water per electric car would be needed to reduce arsenic pollution below natural background levels. This single mine's water quality footprint constitutes up to 0.3\u0026nbsp;% of Morocco's annual water availability, concerning all electric cars produced annually with cobalt from this mine, and corresponds to the full annual capacity of one seawater desalination plant. This underscores the risk of problem shifting with climate-friendly technologies, prompts reflection on due diligence in supply chains under German and upcoming European legislation and highlights the shared responsibility of industry, society and politics.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Arsenic leakage crisis in electric car supply chain: water quality footprint of cobalt mining demands action","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2024-05-14 05:45:23","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4359549/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"89ec8dff-0fa7-47b3-938e-fc4493aeaa12","owner":[],"postedDate":"May 14th, 2024","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":31778321,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences/Environmental impact"},{"id":31778322,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Planetary science/Geochemistry"},{"id":31778323,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental social sciences/Environmental impact"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2024-05-14T05:45:23+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2024-05-14 05:45:23","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-4359549","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-4359549","identity":"rs-4359549","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"qtupq5eGEP_6zYnWcrvyt","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}