SURVEY OF TRACE-ELEMENTS IN HOUSEHOLD AND BOTTLED DRINKING-WATER SAMPLES COLLECTED IN RIYADH, SAUDI-ARABIA

Total dissolved beryllium (Be), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (C u), iron (Fe), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), mercury (Hg), nickel (N i), selenium (Se), strontium (Sr), vanadium (V) and zinc (Zn) were mea sured in the drinking water of 101 households and 21 samples of retail bottled waters purchased in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to ascertain the wat er quality for human consumption. The Inductively Coupled Plasma Spect rometer (ICP) was used for analysis. First-draw Fe, Mn, Ni and Zn conc entrations decreased significantly after 10 min of flushing in the mor ning. Cd, Fe, Hg, Ni and Zn in some cases exceeded the guideline limit s recommended by the EEC and WHO. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.