The Quality of Bottled Drinking Water in Saudi Arabia

K. Aleissa, J. Hegne, S. Shabana, and O. Al-Dayel

King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, P. O. Box 6086, Riyadh 11442, Saudi Arabia

Bottled water is used as a primary source of drinking water in most regions of Saudi Arabia. It has also been marketed as ideal for infant formula preparation or nursery drinking water, for use in reconstituting other foods (including those for the debilitated), for cleaning contact lenses, for skin care, and for filling humidifiers.

The quality of the bottled drinking water with respect of heavy elements concentrations were studied. A several commercial brand manufactured locally and imported were collected. Twenty-six elements were determined. Measurements were performed with use of a Perkin-Elmer Model 6100 ICP-MS. Some elements, such as, Na, Mg, Ca, and Sr appeared in a high concentration.