Patrick J. Sullivan, Franklin J. Agardy, and James. J.J. Clark

Burlington, MA:Elsevier, 2005. 368 pp. ISBN: 0-7506-7876-3, $59.95 cloth

Our ever-increasing knowledge of the subtle impacts of contaminants on the ecosystem and the public health of the community demand an evidence-informed and fact-based approach to dealing with the contamination of what has been coined the “lifeblood of the planet.” The authors of The Environmental Science of Drinking Water question the current culture of drinking water management in the United States and ask whether the reasoning behind the current management system is a sound one—much like the Native American proverb “The frog does not drink up the pond in which he lives,” a foolish practice that would lead to its own demise; the authors conclude that we should approach the management of our water supplies as the frog does and not foul the foundation of our, thus far, successful existence.

The authors raise a red flag early, citing the innumerable, unquantified industrial chemicals, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and treatment byproducts released into our communal waterways. Five chapters cover basic water chemistry, modern chemical contaminants found in water systems, and the treatment technologies available for contaminant control and remediation. This information is supplemented by numerous relevant appendices and a glossary of terms; unfortunately, the work is scattered with abbreviations that perplex the unfamiliar reader and make the text difficult to follow at times. The authors stress the importance of an ecosystem approach to risk management, noting that a paradigm shift is necessary to protect against the long-term synergistic effects of the “chemical soup” that our water resources are becoming.

The Environmental Science of Drinking Water is an excellent compilation of fact, case study, policy analysis, opinion, and good old-fashioned common sense. This enlightening book is an excellent text suitable for technical experts in the field, students honing their skills in environmental health or engineering, or laypersons interested in understanding the origins of policies developed by the U.S. government.

Unfortunately, this text quickly dismisses the significance of microbial contaminants, which is a faulty approach from my perspective. Just as chemical risks due to the contamination of water supplies have changed over time, so too have the biological risks of the water supply and the susceptibilities of the population at large who consume it. The focus on water chemistry and related risks may warrant a review of the title of this textbook, with a more appropriate title being Drinking Water: The Chemical Risks in Modern Water Supplies. Such a title would more accurately reflect the scope and focus of this body of excellent work.

Clearly, these problems are not restricted to the United States. Given the many great examples and case studies used throughout the text, additional benefit would be gained by considering the state of affairs around the world and both the failures and successes in the implementation of water policy; this would add to the weight of the authors’ policy arguments. Some government agencies have begun to look at the broader impact of chemical and other contamination of water supplies; for example, in Ontario, Canada, goals include leading industry beyond minimum standards and toward “environmental improvements” through incentives.

Overall, the thesis is presented methodically and comprehensively. The arguments sway the reader to conclude that waste management and water treatment technology can be used better to reduce the risk to our water supplies. Source protection and drinking water treatment are available to exact a change. The new question is how to share this knowledge with the public, articulate common values and expectations, and mobilize the populace to put its money where its mouth is. The most remarkable achievement of this book is that it has the ability to move these and other important questions to the forefront of the minds of those who read it and begin that paradigm shift through the discourse of reason.

The Environmental Science of Drinking Water

Twenty-six major and trace elements, in the seed and the mesocarp of wild and cultivated rosehips from different locations in Serbia, were quantified by means of inductively coupled plasma–atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP–AES). The cultivated rosehip was investigated for the first time. In both wild and cultivated rosehips, the most abundant elements were K and Ca. Among trace elements, Mn (in both seed and mesocarp); Fe (in seeds); and B, Ba, and Sr (in mesocarp) were quantified in the highest concentrations. The higher content of Cu, K, Mn, P, and S in the seed of cultivated rosehip, as well as Ca, Mg, and Sr in the mesocarp of wild rosehip, was observed, both significant at p < 0.05. Additionally, differences between the seed and the mesocarp of studied rosehip were noticed in the content of B, Cu, Fe, K, Ni, P, S, Sr, and Ti (p < 0.05). Nutritional assessment revealed that both wild and cultivated rosehips are a valuable source of essential elements (Ca, Cu, K, Mg, Mn, and P). The absence of toxic and potentially toxic elements additionally contributes to the quality of studied Serbian rosehip. A high impact of factors such as variety, location, as well as their interaction on the content of elements in cultivated rosehip mesocarp and seed was observed. Pattern recognition techniques, principal component analysis (PCA), and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) were applied in order to provide insight into similarities among the analyzed samples.

Multi-elemental Analysis, Pattern Recognition Techniques of Wild and Cultivated Rosehips from Serbia, and Nutritional Aspect

Water production, technical issues and economics.

An assessment of mobility and bioavailability of trace elements present in the soil requires the determination of these elements in soil samples by an appropriate methodology. In such a context, the use of mild extraction reagents—such as water—is considered to be appropriate. On the other hand, performing an analysis of a reference material together with real samples is recommended in order to control the quality of analytical procedure. The quantification of 27 analytes in aqueous extracts of the soil CRMs samples is described. The methodology consisted of single-step extraction of analytes by deionized water (m/v = 1/10) with their subsequent direct determination by inductively coupled plasma–atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Three certified reference materials (CRM) for soils have been selected as model samples: NCS DC 77302 (alias GBW 07410), Metranal-31, and Metranal-33. Although the recoveries of the selected elements obtained by water extractions are very low (i.e., the values usually do not exceed 1%), the results obtained in this study reveal the elements that by means of ICP-OES can be quantified in the water extracts of unpolluted soils are as follows: Al, Ba, Ca, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, P, S, Sr, Ti, and V. However, ICP-OES is not sensitive enough to quantify the elements As, Be, Cd, Co, Pb, Sb, Se, Tl, and Zn that are present in the water extracts of clean soil samples in too low mass fractions. The results obtained in this paper are useful for future uses of the three tested CRMs, in the cases of the extraction of the analytes by deionized water at room temperature.

Water as a mild extractant of metals and metalloids from the samples of the selected certified reference materials and subsequent multi-elemental quantification by ICP-AES

Water fountains are usually present in the urban public places and often draw the attention of citizens and tourists. Their water is often, in various ways, used by adults and children, but water from fountains is not usually a subject of researchers’ interest. This paper describes the analytical procedure and the results of the multi-elemental characterisation of the waters from the selected public water fountains in the city of Zagreb, Republic of Croatia. Twenty-eight chemical elements (Al, As, B, Ba, Be, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Li, Mn, Mo, Ni, P, Pb, S, Sb, Se, Sr, Ti, Tl, V, Zn and Ca, K, Mg and Na) were quantified by means of ICP-AES technique. In addition to the multi-elemental analysis, determination of pH values was performed too. Pearson’s correlation coefficients suggest that Al, Cu, Fe, Mn and Pb originate from the plumbing system and their leaching is strongly negatively correlated with the pH values of the tested samples. On the other hand, alkali and alkaline-earth metals as well as Mo, Ti, Zn and B, P and S are most probably of a natural origin in the water samples tested in this study. The results lead to the conclusions that (i) trace and major element content in squirt of a monumental water fountain is analogous to their content in water of the same origin and (ii) a pool of a fountain which is made of a high-quality stone, in the context of the herein performed testings, generally does not affect the quality of water which is contained in it.

The first example of multi-elemental analysis of water samples from urban monumental fountains-a case study from Zagreb (Croatia)

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The first example of multi-elemental analysis of water samples from urban monumental fountains-a case study from Zagreb (Croatia)