Survey of trace elements in household and bottled drinking water samples collected in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Total dissolved beryllium (Be), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), mercury (Hg), nickel (Ni), selenium (Se), strontium (Sr), vanadium (V) and zinc (Zn) were measured in the drinking water of 101 households and 21 samples of retail bottled waters purchased in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to ascertain the water quality for human consumption. The Inductively Coupled Plasma Spectrometer (ICP) was used for analysis. First-draw Fe, Mn, Ni and Zn concentrations decreased significantly after 10 min of flushing in the morning. Cd, Fe, Hg, Ni and Zn in some cases exceeded the guideline limits recommended by the EEC and WHO.