Occurrence of nitrate (NO3-N) in some bottled drinking water that are sold in the Philippines
1998
Merestela, T.M. | Tamura, Y. | Kumazawa, K. (Benguet State Univ., La Trinidad, Benguet 2601 (Philippines))
Bottled drinking water is becoming a popular drink and is resorted, to partly supplement the water shortage and to be ensured of safe drinking water. Most of the bottled drinking water sold in the Philippines are bottled at source from springs. Natural spring or groundwater is vulnerable to nitrate (NO3 raised to the negative power - N) contamination. The maximum contaminant level (MCL) for drinking water is 10 ppm NO3 raised to the negative power - N (USEPA, 1975). Beyond this concentration, nitrate can pose health hazard and cause eutrophication of continental and coastal aquifers. The objective of the study is to evaluate the nitrate content and other minerals that are present in bottled drinking water sold in the Philippines. Eighteen brands of bottled drinking water were collected and sampled in Manila and Laguna. The minerals were analyzed using ion chromatography. The Na+, K+, Ca++, Mg++, Cl-SO4 raised to negative 2 and NO3 raised to the negative power - N contents were detected in most of the samples. NO3 raised to the negative power - N ranged from 0.19 plus or minus 0.023 ppm to 2.17 plus or minus 0.081 ppm. This range is below the MCL for drinking water. The highest amount of NO3 raised to the negative power - N was detected from "First". This amount of NO3 raised to the negative power - N may have been derived elsewhere from the decomposition of organic matter in the forest where this spring water originated
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