title: Presence of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in bottled drinking water in Mexico City.
abstract: This paper describes the concentrations of seven polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in bottled drinking water samples that were collected over 1 year from Mexico City in two sizes (1.5 and 19 L), using gas chromatography with an electron capture detector. PCBs 28 (0.018-0.042 μg/L), 52 (0.006-0.015 μg/L) and 101 (0.001-0.039 μg/L) were the most commonly found and were present in the majority of the samples. However, total concentrations of PCBs in bottled drinking water (0.035-0.039 μg/L) were below the maximum permissible level of 0.50 μg/L stated in Mexican regulations and probably do not represent a hazard to human health. PCBs were detectable in all samples and we recommend a monitoring program be established to better understand the quality of drinking bottled water over time; this may help in producing solutions for reducing the presence of organic contaminants.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Producción Agrícola y Animal, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Unidad Xochimilco, Colonia Villa Quietud, Coyoacán, México D.F..
authors.forename: Rutilio Ortiz
authors.initials: RO
authors.lastname: Salinas
authors.forename: Beatriz Schettino
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Bermudez
authors.forename: Rey Gutiérrez
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Tolentino
authors.forename: Gilberto Díaz
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Gonzalez
authors.forename: Salvador
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vega y León
mesh_terms: D005504:Food Analysis; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008800:Mexico; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis*; D014867:Water / Q000032:analysis*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D014867:Water; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls