Título:
Aluminum contents in drinking water from public water supplies of Galicia (Northwest Spain)
Resumo:
Aluminum (Al) salts are used extensively as coagulants in drinking water treatment. Since several research works have linked Al levels in drinking water to elevated risks of Alzheimer’s disease we have studied the Al content in drinking waters from populations of Galicia (NW Spain). Drinking water from 35 cities and villages in Galicia were analysed for dissolved Al and other relevant parameters (pH, turbidity, sulfate, fluoride and DOM) for the period 1997-2003. The results obtained showed an average aluminum content of 126 μg L-1, but the variability was high, with Al levels ranged from 8 to 650 μg L-1. The 19% and the 34% of the waters studied contained Al above 0.2 and 0.1 mg L-1, respectively. Speciation studied performed using the WHAM computer model showed that most dissolved Al was DOM-complexed, although some waters containing significative amounts of labile Al, mainly as hydroxo and fluoride complexes.
Autores:
David A. Rubinos, Manuel Arias Rubinos, Carlos Aymerich, Francisco Díaz-Fierros