title: Physicochemical quality and health implications of bottled water brands sold in Ethiopia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Water bottling companies often assert that their products are of the highest quality and are conforming to the standards.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The objective of the study was to assess the physicochemical quality of bottled waters consumed in Ethiopia and to compare the findings with the national and international water quality standards.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eleven domestic and two imported bottled water brands were randomly purchased in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia at three different occasions from July 2013 to May 2014. A total of 39 composite samples were examined for aggregate parameters, major anions, and common cations in accordance with the procedures described in the standard methods.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found that 7.7% of the samples were containing higher levels of alkalinity, hardness, total dissolved solids, pH, HCO3-, Na+, and Ca2+ than the national standards and the WHO guidelines. However, the deviations from standards for all the above parameters were not statistically significant (one-sample t-test, P>0.05). Conversely, in some of the brands, some of the essential elements like Ca2+, K+, Mg2+, and F- were found at very low concentrations. The rest of the parameters, including CO3(2-), SO4(2-), PO4(3-) (orthophosphates), Cl-, F-, NO3-, NO2-, K+, Mg2+, Fe, Mn, Cr, Cd, Cu, Ni, and Pb were within the acceptable ranges in all the brands.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Bottled water brands containing very high concentrations of dissolved substances may pose health risks for individuals living with heart and kidney related problems. On the other hand, brands having chemicals lower than the optimum level may also harm the health of consumers who choose those brands as a sole source of drinking water. Thus, we suggest those responsible authorities to ensure regular monitoring and testing for chemical compositions of bottled water.
authors.affiliation: Environmental Health Research Team, Ethiopian Public Health Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
authors.forename: Wossen T
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: Amogne
authors.forename: Melaku
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gizaw
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Abera
mesh_terms: D002947:Cities; D003257:Consumer Product Safety / Q000592:standards*; D060766:Drinking Water / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D005002:Ethiopia; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D014873:Water Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D060753:Water Quality / Q000592:standards*
chemical_list: D060766:Drinking Water; D014873:Water Pollutants