Analysis of physical and chemical parameters of bottled drinking water.

Seventeen different brands of bottled drinking water, collected from different retail shops in Amritsar, were analyzed for different physical and chemical parameters to ascertain their compliability with the prescribed/recommended limits of the World Heath Organization (WHO) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). It was found that the majority of the brands tested were over-treated. Lower values of hardness, total dissolved solids (TDS) and conductance than the prescribed limits of WHO showed that water was deficient in essential minerals. Minerals like magnesium, potassium, calcium and fluoride were present in some cases in such a low concentration that water seemed to be as good as distilled water. Samples showing fluoride lesser than 0.5 mg/l warranted additional sources of fluoride for the people consuming only bottled water for drinking purposes. Zero values for chlorine demand as shown by all the bottled water samples showed that water samples were safe from micro-organisms. In case of heavy metals, only lead had been found to be greater than the limit of 0.015 mg/l as prescribed by WHO and USEPA, in seven out of 17 samples. Lead even at such a low concentration can pose a great health hazard.