HEALTH-HAZARD BY METALS IN DRINKING-WATER

Drinking water is essential for man and cannot be replaced. In the pub lic discussion the quality of drinking water is often presented in a o ne-sided way. This has led to great sensitivity and insecurity with th e result that the intake of drinking water is often regarded as delete rious to human health. In this presentation it is attempted to demonst rate by the example of six metals and semimetals in which way these su bstances are transmitted into water, how much the consumption of drink ing water contributes to the total uptake, and whether a health risk c an be derived from this source.