Protecting health from metal exposures in drinking water

Rev Environ Health. 2016 Mar;31(1):29-31. doi: 10.1515/reveh-2015-0079.

Abstract

Drinking water is essential to us as human beings. According to the World Health Organization "The quality of drinking-water is a powerful environmental determinant of health" (http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/en/), but clean drinking water is a precious commodity not always readily available. Surface and ground water are the major sources of drinking water. Both can be contaminated, surface water with bacteria while ground water frequently contains salts of metals that occur naturally or are introduced by human activity. This paper will briefly review the metallic salts found in drinking water in areas around the world, as well as list some of the methods used to reduce or remove them. It will then discuss our research on reducing the risk of pollution of drinking water by removal of metal ions from wastewater.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Drinking Water / analysis*
  • Humans
  • Metals / analysis*
  • Risk
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical / analysis*
  • Water Purification*

Substances

  • Drinking Water
  • Metals
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical