Geochemical Influences on Sri Lankan Bottled Water
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Date
2012
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Publisher
Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka
Abstract
Sri Lanka is one of the renowned countries to have abundant sources of clean natural water resources. There are numerous discovered or undiscovered natural water bodies that contain clean water which can be used as drinking water without any treatment. They can be categorized according to the origin as artesian water, spring water, well water, prepared water or surface water. However, currently Sri Lanka is experiencing an unprecedented development which does not assure clean natural water anymore. At this scenario, bottled water plays a major role as a source of clean drinking water. Bottled water, which is used for human consumption may contain minerals and carbon dioxide, naturally occurring or intentionally added; but shall not contain added sugars, sweeteners, flavorings or other foods that are packaged in plastic or glass bottles and sizes range from small PET bottles to large gallons.
There are number of bottled water brands which contain treated or untreated spring water, well water, or river water which are bottled and distributed in various districts. This bottled water may contain different chemical components according to their natural source, different treatment methods or with the requirements. A research on investigating the chemical composition and its relationship with the bed rock geochemistry of the source area has not been conducted in Sri Lanka. Thus, this research aims at assessing the geochemical conditions of Sri Lanka's bottle water sources by analyzing samples collected from different areas of the country. Where the sources of bottled water are dug wells, springs or tube wells they can easily be used for the groundwater monitoring purposes.
It is attempted to recognize the real quality of the bottled water and to evaluate the quality compliance with the standards. In Sri Lanka there are two specific standards given for the bottle water by the Sri Lankan Standards Institution. Those are SLS 1038:2003 and SLS 894:2003 which define the requirements for high quality bottled water product.
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Keywords
Mineral Resources and Technology, Water Quality managment, Water Treatment methods