Determination of trace and heavy metals in bottled drinking water in Yemen by ICP-MS

This study assessed the concentrations of several trace and heavy metals in bottled drinking water. A total of 27 samples were collected from Yemeni markets. The ICP-MS (inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry) technique was utilized to analyze the levels of Li, Al, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, Se, Rb, Ag, Cd, Cs, Ba, Hg, Tl, Pb, and U. Furthermore, the study also examined the levels of total dissolved solids (TDS), electrical conductivity (EC), and pH in the collected samples. The concentrations of the elements in the bottled drinking water samples were compared to the maximum allowable concentration (MAC) values for these elements in drinking water, set by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Yemen’s Ministry of Water and Environment (YMWE). The limit of detection (LOD) and recovery ranged from 0.0003 to 1.86 μg/l, 80 to 120 %, respectively. Only trace elements Mn and Pb were detected in all samples at concentrations below the LOD. Out of the elements examined, only Hg exceeded the acceptable limits defined by both the WHO and YMWE in most of the samples.