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Potentially Toxic Elements (PTEs) in Bottled Water (Mineral and Drinking) Distributed in Different Seasons in Tehran, Iran: A Health Risk Assessment Study

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine twelve potentially toxic elements (PTEs), encompassing aluminum (Al), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), mercury (Hg), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), antimony (Sb), vanadium (V), and zinc (Zn), in 120 samples of bottled water (mineral and drinking) collected from the market in Tehran, Iran, during the winter and summer seasons. The bottled water samples were assessed using an inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Furthermore, non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic health risks were evaluated for adults and children using hazard quotient (HQ), hazard index (HI), and cancer risk (CR). The maximum content of PTEs was attributed to Zn in bottled drinking water in winter, and the minimum content was attributed to V in bottled mineral water in summer. There was a significant difference in the concentration of Cu and Zn in the summer and winter (p < 0.05). Also, the concentration of Ni, V, and Zn in bottled drinking water and bottled mineral water revealed a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05). In all cases, the values of THQ and HI were less than one and were acceptable. CR values for Cr and Ni were unacceptable.

Article Highlights

  • 120 samples including drinking bottled water and mineral bottled water were collected in winter and summer.

  • 12 trace elements were analysed in the samples by ICP-OES.

  • There was a significant difference in the concentration of Cu and Zn in the summer and winter.

  • The concentration of Ni, V and Zn in bottled drinking water and bottled mineral water revealed a statistically significant difference.

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Data will be made available on request.

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Acknowledgements

This work is a part of the MSc thesis report in the food safety and hygiene field in the School of Public Health at Tehran University of Medical Sciences and this study has been funded and supported by the Cancer Research Center (CRC), Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences.

Funding

This work was supported by the Cancer Research Center (CRC), Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Food Safety and Hygiene, Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Ramin Aslani, Ebrahim Molaee-aghaee & Parisa Sadighara

  2. Department of Food Technology Research, National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Saeideh Esmaeili

  3. Cancer Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Mohamad Esmaeil Akbari

  4. Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Shahrokh Nazmara

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  1. Ramin Aslani
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  4. Mohamad Esmaeil Akbari
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  5. Parisa Sadighara
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Contributions

Ramin Aslani: sample collection and preparation, sample analysis, investigation, writing—original draft. Saeideh Esmaeili: conceptualization, project administration, methodology, writing—review & editing. Ebrahim Molaee-Aghaee: conceptualization, project administration, methodology, investigation, writing—review & editing. Mohammad Esmaeil Akbari: conceptualization, supervision. Parisa Sadighara: writing—review & editing, data interpretation. Shahrokh Nazmara: samples analysis.

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Correspondence to Saeideh Esmaeili, Ebrahim Molaee-aghaee or Mohamad Esmaeil Akbari.

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IR.SBMU.CRC.REC.1400.014.

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Aslani, R., Esmaeili, S., Molaee-aghaee, E. et al. Potentially Toxic Elements (PTEs) in Bottled Water (Mineral and Drinking) Distributed in Different Seasons in Tehran, Iran: A Health Risk Assessment Study. Int J Environ Res 18, 38 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41742-024-00594-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41742-024-00594-6

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