Determination of Heavy elements in Drinking Water from Different Regions of Baghdad City (Iraq) Using EDXRF Spectrometer

Abstract

It was calculated the average concentrations of elements manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc, arsenic, cadmium and lead in the sixteen samples of drinking water (tap water), were collected from different areas in the Baghdad city. The Results indicated that the average of concentrations of the elements Mn, Fe, Pb, Ni and Cd (0.44ppm, 0.49ppm, 0.04ppm, 0.17ppm and 1.2ppm respectively) higher than permissible limit while the concentrations of elements Cu and Zn (0.11ppm and 0.14ppm respectively) were lower than the permissible limit of World Health Organization (WHO) standards (1ppm and 3ppm) respectively for drinking water and the concentration of Arsenic in the nuclear lab sample in college of sciences - Mustansiriyah University was higher than permissible limit. All the drinking water samples were analyzed and determined the physical and chemical properties such as Electrical Conductivity (EC), pH, and Total Dissolved Solids (TDS). The highest value was (1064μS/cm) in Al-Tuwaitha sample and the lowest value (531μS/cm) in Al-Sadr City (Sector 7) sample for the Electrical Conductivity. The pH values ranged from (7.0-8.2). The average levels of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), the highest value was 550 mg/L in the Diyala Bridge sample while the lowest value 276mg/L in Al-Sadr City (Sector 7) sample. The results were compared with national and international standards, and it’s also showed that the values of the parameters within the permissible limit of World Health Organization (WHO) standards, except the Electrical Conductivity values for some samples were higher than permissible limit. According to these results, all the water projects must be monitored as well as using the proper and modern techniques for treatment the drinking water.