Antimony (Sb) leaching from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottling material was assessed in eight registered Lebanese brands of bottled natural water as a function of contact time. The study was performed indoors at 22 °C in the dark and outdoors at a maximum temperature of 45 °C under sunlight. The leached antimony concentration increased with contact time for all of the studied brands except one. The antimony concentration reached 5.5 μg/L after 544 days of contact time with PET packaging. Small bottles with large contact surface area had higher antimony concentration. However, outdoor storage under sunlight at temperatures below 45 °C did not reveal a significant effect on antimony release. Among some physico-chemical parameters studied (pH, calcium, magnesium and bicarbonate), only calcium concentration showed a significant effect on antimony release. The rate of antimony leaching, normalized to the surface to volume ratio of the water bottle, fits the exponential model Sb/(S/V) = 0.562e0.0041t, with R2 = 0.87. Atomic absorption spectroscopy analysis of the different PET packaging material showed an antimony concentration between 80.6 and 352.7 mg Sb/kg PET.
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Research Article|
March 01 2012
Antimony release in PET bottled natural water in Lebanon Available to Purchase
Lina Hureiki;
1Faculty of Public Health, Lebanese University, Box 90-1556, Jdeidet El-Metn, Fanar, Lebanon
E-mail: [email protected]
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Youssef Mouneimne
Youssef Mouneimne
2K.A.S. Central Research Science Laboratory, American University, Box 11-0236, Beirut, Lebanon
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Water Supply (2012) 12 (2): 193–199.
Article history
Received:
September 12 2011
Accepted:
November 21 2011
Citation
Lina Hureiki, Youssef Mouneimne; Antimony release in PET bottled natural water in Lebanon. Water Supply 1 March 2012; 12 (2): 193–199. doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/ws.2012.128
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