Estimation of Physico-Chemical, Trace Metals, Microbiological and Phthalate in PET Bottled Water

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is a usually used material in the industry of bottled water. Now days the consumption of bottled water has been steadily growing in the world from the last 30 years. A total of 24 PET bottled water, 4 of each brand with 2 different batch numbers were collected randomly from the local market of Noida city, India. Numerous water quality parameters such as physico-chemical, phthalate, trace metals, and total coliform were analyzed in these samples. These parameters may affect the safety of PET bottled water. The purpose of this study was to estimate the quality of PET bottled water of different brands available in Noida. The samples were analyzed as per the Indian Standard (IS)-14543 (2016). The results were compared with the standard of drinking water set by WHO, IS, USEPA and met the standard value of these agencies. pH was found in the range of 6.72–6.97 while turbidity and TSS were found < 1.0. Total hardness was found in the range of 5.0–131.0 mg/l and total alkalinity was found in the range of 3.33–115.0 mg/l. Sodium was present from 2.10–39.10 mg/l while potassium was present from 0.20–7.20 mg/l. The presence of fluoride was in the range of 0.18–0.67 mg/l. Heavy metals such as Pb, Hg, Cd and As were found in the range of 0.18–4.52 µg/l. Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate was found below the detection limit while no growth was observed for total coliform in these samples. All six brands of PET bottled water were found to be safe and healthy for drinking.