Water quality and risk assessment of copper content in drinking water stored in copper container

Abstract

Abstract In most developing countries, drinking water is still a serious challenge. Many water purification methods exist, but they are costly and out of reach for many people. Copper is an ancient metal that has been used from several thousands of years. Because of its antibacterial properties, ancient cultures held this metal in high regard. Copper vessels are still in use today for storing drinking water due to its ability to purify water. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the copper concentration in drinking water after storing in copper containers/bottle over different time periods with respect to copper safety levels. For this study, water is stored in a copper container up to 168 h and the water samples are collected at different intervals. The concentration of copper is analyzed in water samples using ICPMS, and it ranges from 0.009 to 0.823 mg/L, which indicates as time increases simultaneously copper content also raises in the stored water. The higher copper content was detected at sample@168 h which was also well within the permissible limits of World Health Organization and United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Keywords

• Drinking water
• Copper container/bottle
• Safe limits
• Copper toxicity