Potential Health Risks of Heavy Metal Contents in Bottled Water from Lagos State and Its Environs, Nigeria

The concentrations of lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd), Chromium (Cr), Nickel (Ni), B and Fe in twenty (20) different brands of bottled water samples were investigated to ascertain the risk exposure to consumers using Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS). The concentrations of the heavy metals analyzed varied from bottled water to bottled water samples. The BE bottled water sample was found to contain the least concentration of Pb with a value of 0.0232 mg/l. The risk of chronic daily intake (CDI) was determined based on the United State Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) model for health risk. It was observed that Fe, Mg and Ca reported in all the bottled water samples. The estimated Chronic Daily Intake (CDI) of different metals from the water samples is found to be in order of magnitude of Pb> Fe>Cd>Ni. The highest CDI found in VA, SO, SO, LAT water samples are higher than the International Reference Dose Level according to WHO and USEPA respectively. This study suggest that some bottled water factories should be sited in zones that are safer from these heavy metals if Reverse Osmosis machine for proper removal of these trace elements from the raw water is not in use for water treatment.