Survey of boron levels in aquatic environments in Germany

The results of the analysis of almost 30,000 boron concentration measuremen ts from across Germany for a variety of water compartments (drinking water, ground water, surface water and waste water) are presented. Boron enters t he aquatic environment from both natural and anthropogenic sources. The vas t majority of values from ground water, surface water and drinking water li e well below the maximum acceptable concentration of 1 mg/L stipulated in t he new EU directive on drinking water. Only a few individual measurements e xceed this value, the greatest number (1.5% of all cases) occuring in Lower Saxony. The reduced use of perborates in detergents and washing agents has led to a significant decrease in boron levels in municipal waste water. Th e reduction can, in some cases, be demonstrated by calculations of boron lo ads in surface water sites. Anthropogenic contamination can be demonstrated locally but not generally because of the influence of geogenic effects.