Abstract
Background and objectivesHeavy metals are considered as one of the major contaminants that can enter into the bottled waters. Antimony (Sb) is a contaminant, which may leach from the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles into the water. The aim of this study was to investigate the content of antimony and other trace elements in bottled waters which was kept in varied storage conditions and temperatures.Materials and methodsFive time-temperature treatments were carried out on five different brands of commercially available bottled waters. Heavy metal measurement was performed by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES) method. Analysis of the collected data was processed by SPSS software.ResultsAntimony concentration was the main concern in our study. The concentrations increased in each of the sample during storage period at all temperatures. The results for different conditions were as follow: at 40°C, in outdoor and at room temperature the Sb concentrations were below the MCLs, i e. 6 ppb. However, at 65°C and 80°C for longer storage times Sb concentration exceeded the MCLs, and variations between the samples were significant (p ≤ 0.05). Storage time and temperature effects on the content of some other trace elements such as Al, Fe were also significant (p ≤ 0.05).ConclusionBy increasing the duration of storage time and temperatures, antimony leaching from the PET bottles into the bottled water increased. The concentration of Al demonstrated an increase in higher temperatures and storage duration, whereas the content of Fe demonstrated no significant differences.
Highlights
Consumption of bottled water has become increasingly popular worldwide
As the main trace element of the study, in all the samples at the day zero and at the initial stages of the examinations were below the maximum contaminant level (MCL) (6 ppb), but the levels were higher for samples 3 and 4 than others samples (p ≤ 0.05)
The study has concluded that Antimony (Sb) may leach from the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle into the bottled water
Summary
Consumption of bottled water has become increasingly popular worldwide. Population growth and lack of access to appropriate drinking water has increased use of bottled waters; and in some areas, some major concerns to the consumers are environmental pollutants and its adverse effects on the local water supply, as well as, a number of the local municipality water irregularities, of the leading and still prevalent mortality causes worldwide [4,5].Antimony, titanium or germanium compounds are used as catalysts in the manufacturing of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles, where polymerization of terephthalic acid monomers and ethylene glycol occurs. Population growth and lack of access to appropriate drinking water has increased use of bottled waters; and in some areas, some major concerns to the consumers are environmental pollutants and its adverse effects on the local water supply, as well as, a number of the local municipality water irregularities, of the leading and still prevalent mortality causes worldwide [4,5]. Antimony is regarded as one of the major drinking water contaminants, which exceeds the maximum contaminant level (MCL), i.e. 6 ppb, under a number of conditions. Antimony (Sb) is a contaminant, which may leach from the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles into the water. The aim of this study was to investigate the content of antimony and other trace elements in bottled waters which was kept in varied storage conditions and temperatures
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