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Leakage of contaminated, acidic, and salty waste water from a chemical industrial complex in the Negev desert, Israel, resulted in increased salinity of the water in the regional carbonate aquifer. Changes in concentrations of the major elements and some ionic ratios enabled delineating the mixing process of the waste water in the aquifer. Although the waste water is enriched in trace elements, no noticeable change in their concentrations was detected in the contaminated aquifer. The removal of the trace elements is attributed to adsorption that was enabled by a rise in the pH of the contaminated water as it comes in contact with the carbonate host rock. (C) 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.