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Assessment of physicochemical characteristics and health risk of drinking water


Citation

Sulaiman, Fazrul Razman and Mohd Rafi, Nur Fadhilah and Kamarudin, Shytie Nur Shafiqah and Syed Ismail, Sharifah Norkhadijah (2016) Assessment of physicochemical characteristics and health risk of drinking water. Jurnal Teknologi (Sciences & Engineering), 78 (2). pp. 107-114. ISSN 0127-9696; ESSN: 2180–3722

Abstract

This study investigates the physical and chemical properties of bottled water and tap water at a university campus in Pahang, Malaysia. A total of seven bottled water brands, consisting of natural mineral (NM) and packaged drinking (PD) types, were first randomly selected. Three source locations of tap water were also examined. All water samples were analysed for their physicochemical characteristics, including pH, electrical conductivity (EC), temperature (using a YSI multi-parameter), turbidity (using a turbidity meter) and selected trace metals, along with copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) using graphite furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy (GFAAS). Results were then examined against World Health Organization (WHO) and Malaysian Ministry of Health (MMOH) guidelines for drinking water. Health risks associated with trace metal were estimated using the risk assessment model. Turbidity values for tap water (2.85-4.94 NTU) were slightly higher than bottled water (0.77-1.03 NTU). A low turbidity value (0.77-0.93 NTU) suggests the presence of effective water treatment processes for NM bottled water. A low concentration of EC (0.003-0.010 mS/cm) indicates demineralization of PD bottled water. Overall quality of the bottled water and tap water was in compliance with guidelines recommended by WHO and MMOH, posing a minimum health risk and remaining safe for consumption.


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Additional Metadata

Item Type: Article
Divisions: Faculty of Medicine and Health Science
Publisher: Penerbit UTM Press
Keywords: Bottled water; Tap water; Trace metals; University population; Water quality
Depositing User: Nabilah Mustapa
Date Deposited: 08 Jun 2016 01:31
Last Modified: 08 Jun 2016 01:31
URI: http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/13869
Statistic Details: View Download Statistic

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