Ajay Arjoon Persaud, Denise A. Simmons & Patrick Ketwaru
Published: November 4, 2020 • Book of Abstracts – Student Research, Volume 1
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52377/LXSU8411
Ajay Arjoon Persaud ✉️ Denise A. Simmons Department of Environmental Studies. Faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences. University of Guyana –Turkeyen Campus. Greater Georgetown, Guyana.
Patrick Ketwaru Department of Chemistry. Faculty of Natural Sciences. University of Guyana – Turkeyen Campus. Greater Georgetown, Guyana.
We examined the effects of temperature and storage time on the release of antimony from polyethylene terephthalate drinking water bottles to determine whether antimony exposure presented a health risk to consumers. Simulation experiments were based on actual storage conditions recorded at three distributors over an eleven-day period. The highest temperature recorded at the distributor level was 50.8oC and a storage time of 7 days. The release of antimony based on temperature and time followed the equation: C = C0 x k x ekt. The mean concentrations of antimony released from the experiments were 0.05 ± 0.01 µg/L at 29oC, 0.12 ± 0.02 µg/L at 40oC, and 0.61 ± 0.02 µg/L at 50oC. Antimony concentrations increased with storage time, temperature, and with the combined effect of storage time and temperature. However, the Maximum Contaminant Levels of the Caribbean Community (5 µg/L) and the World Health Organisation (20 µg/L) were not violated. The highest chronic daily intake values, which were calculated based on the average daily intake of drinking water (2 litres for adults and 1 litre for children) and average body weight (70 kg for adults, 20 kg for children), were 28.57 ng/kg/d for adults and 50 ng/kg/d for children. These values were far below the United States Environmental Protection Agency Reference Dose of 400 ng/kg/d. Antimony exposure from the leaching of polyethylene terephthalate drinking water bottles investigated in this study does not represent a significant health risk to adults and children.
Keywords: Antimony; polyethylene terephthalate (PET); drinking water
Published: 2020-11-04
eBook: Book of Abstracts – Student Research Volume 1
Section: Human Health
