Concentration of trace elements in bottled drinking water

Abstract

Twenty-two trace elements (lithium, boron, aluminum, vanadium, chromium, manganese, iron, nickel, copper, zinc, gallium, arsenic, selenium, rubidium, strontium, molybdenum, cadmium, antimony, cesium, barium, lead and uranium) in 170 samples of bottled drinking water from Japanese market were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Sample solution of 100 mL of water spiked with 1 mL of nitric acid was subjected to ICP-MS. Recoveries of elements spiked in bottled drinking water were over 94%. Differences in concentration of elements depended on the source of the water. No sample contained more elements than the maximum levels recommended in the standards of manufacture for bottled drinking water. Four samples contained more elements than the maximum levels recommended in the Japanese water quality standard of drinking water.