Quantitative Determination of Arsenic in Bottled Drinking Water Using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy

Background: Many studies have been performed in the past few years, to determine arsenic speciation in drinking water, food chain and environment, arsenic being a well-recognized carcinogenic and toxic agent mainly in its inorganic species. The instrumental techniques used for arsenic determination, such as hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry (HGAAS), graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), can provide a great sensitivity only on the total amount.
Objective: The aim of this study was to develop a simple and rapid method and to analyze the concentration of total inorganic arsenic in bottled drinking water.
Methods: Total arsenic was determined in samples from six different types of commercially available bottled drinking water using atomic absorption spectrometry with electrothermal or hydride generation vaporisation. All drinking water samples were acidified with 0.1M nitric acid to match the acidity of the standards.
Results: The method was linear within the studied range (1–5 μg/L, R = 0.9943). The quantification limits for arsenic determination were 0.48 μg/L (HGAAS) and 0.03 μg/L (GFAAS). The evaluated arsenic content in drinking water was within the accepted limits provided by law.
Conclusions: A simple and sensitive method for the quantification of arsenic in drinking water using atomic absorbtion spectroscopy was described, which can be further used in toxicological studies. As an additional advantage, the system is very fast, efficient and environmental friendly.