This study was conducted to investigate the in situ formation of amorphous Fe oxides as a stabilization technology in As-contaminated soil. After addition of ferric nitrate and the neutralizing agent, most of extractable fractions of As in soil (i.e., SO₄^2- and PO₄^3--extractable As) was converted into As bound to amorphous Fe oxides. In addition, results of solubility bioavailability research consortium (SBRC) test indicated that a significant amount of As in untreated soil changed to a non-bioaccessible form after stabilization. The reason was attributed to the newly formed amorphous Fe oxides in the stabilized soil, which was confirmed by linear combination of fitting (LCF) using X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) analysis. Interestingly, after five months of aging of the stabilized soil, ferrihydrite and schwertmannite newly formed in the soil were transformed to crystalline Fe oxides such as goethite, and further decrease in SBRC extractable fraction of As was observed. The results suggest that co-precipitated As with amorphous Fe oxides can be further immobilized with time, due to the crystallization of amorphous Fe oxides. 

Keywords: Co-precipitation, Arsenic, Amorphous Fe oxides, Crystallization, X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS)