Abstract
Boiled drinking water is carried by students to schools and colleges in plastic containers. However, the risk associated with drinking water stored in plastic containers is very real especially the question of leachates finding their way into the water stored in these containers. In this pilot study, we identified the most common plastic container used by students to carry water and the factors that govern their choice. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) was identified as the most favored plastic used to carry water. PET bottles were then subject to treatments that mimic conditions representative of normal consumer usage. The water sample collected was tested for the presence of phthalates, antimony & titanium, and their content estimated by gas chromatography and atomic absorption spectra. Although phthalates and antimony leach into water from PET bottles their concentration was not high enough to pose a threat to human life. However, the trend of increasing antimony concentration with temperature and time is a cause of concern because of its role as endocrine disruptors. Prolonged and repeated use of PET bottles to carry water, especially warm water may lead to health problems in the community.
Highlights
Water is pivotal to life and safe drinking water an essential requirement for healthy living
We proposed to identify, through a pilot survey, the percentage of the population that carry boiled water to an educational institution and the most common plastic container used to carry water
Phthalates and antimony leach into water from Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles, their concentration was not high enough to pose a threat to human life
Summary
Water is pivotal to life and safe drinking water an essential requirement for healthy living. The drinking water source is often contaminated (microbial & otherwise) either due to sewage or polluted water bodies (Subin et al 2011, Dhawde et al 2018 Sharma P 2018) and is responsible for an increased prevalence of various water-borne disease like diarrhea, typhoid fever, hepatitis A, amoebic and bacillary dysentery, and other diarrheal diseases (Fredrick et al 2015; Boisson et al 2013). Boiling water to reduce pathogen load is a scientifically proven method to improve the quality of living (World Health Organization 2004). It is the method of choice for treating water in small quantities globally, with an estimated 1.2 billion people using it as a means of household water treatment (Brown and Sobsey 2012).
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