Safe and clean drinking water is vital for good health and a basic right for humans. However, contamination is both a major, and unavoidable problem with water resources. These contaminants can be originated from pesticides, pharmaceuticals, personal care products and industrial chemicals and many of these contaminants are potentially toxic and carcinogenic.
Due to the rise in water contamination, regulatory authorities show great concern about these contaminants that may be harmful to the environment and humans even in very low concentrations.
Protecting environmental water resources is vital for human safety. Surface and ground water are the primary water sources for human use and consumption, undergoing rigorous quality testing to ensure safety. The wastewater from these sources is treated and sometimes resourced for reuse, making wastewater testing another fundamental part of water quality testing.
The Water Framework Directive requires all members of the European Union (including the UK) to set objectives for their water bodies in terms of water quality standards including pollutant concentrations, health of fish populations, and groundwater quality. In the UK there are three relevant bodies to regulate drinking water quality: (a) Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) monitors and regulates the quality of drinking water in England in Wales, (b) the Drinking Water Quality Regulator (DWQR) is the relevant body that regulates drinking water quality in Scotland and (c) the Drinking Water Inspector (the Inspectorate) is responsible for regulating drinking water quality in Northern Ireland.
There is a growing need for efficient and accurate analytical testing for contaminants in drinking water due to this rise in environmental water pollution. The use of liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry is used to obtain complete information on water composition and provides high specificity to identify and quantify these contaminants in very low concentrations that other instruments cannot.
Contact us today to learn more about the use of LC-MS in drinking water quality and how to improve your system service.