Abstract

Aluminium can occur in drinking water because of the application of aluminium salts as a coagulant in the treatment of drinking water. In the Netherlands mostly iron salts are used instead of aluminium. Besides this aluminium can be present in the source for drinking water. In shallow groundwater high levels have been found probably related to acidification, which is an environmental problem. Aluminium can cause neurological diseases in patients who are on chronic haemodialysis because of renal disfunction. A few epidemiological surveys have suggested a relation between Alzheimer's disease and the presence of aluminium in drinking water in Norway and in Great Britain. This report describes the results of a survey into the occurrence of aluminium in purified drinking water, filtered and non-filtered raw water. In the survey 40 drinking water treatment facilities were involved. In drinking water the aluminium concentration varied between < 0.8 and 157 mug/l, while in 12% of the samples the level exceeded 30 mug/l (at this level the health authorities have to be warned because of haemodialysis patients). The EC-standard which is 200 mug/l was not exceeded. In general the aluminium levels in 1991, were not increased in comparison with the data from 1983; however there were a few exceptions. At the present level of knowledge on the health aspects of aluminium the measured concentrations give no reason to except effects on public health. The measured concentrations in raw groundwater (mixed water from a production site) do not show aluminium to be a threat for the drinking water sources at the moment At only three production sites aluminium levels in the raw groundwater were high which seems to be an effect of acidification. Data from individual wells have to be analysed to estimate the risk of acidification for the production of drinking water.