In the United States, the public has come to expect drinking water that is safe to consume due to the federally enacted Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974. Reports have recently surfaced that the drinking water of schools, towns, and cities exceeded the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) of various metals such as lead, copper, and chromium established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Based upon these reports, the drinking water on the campus of Washington and Jefferson College, located in southwestern Pennsylvania, was selected for analysis. Water samples were collected from drinking fountains in all academic buildings using EPA protocols. Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) was selected as the analytical method of choice and detection limits for metals of interest were determined. Drinking fountains in several academic buildings were found to exceed the MCL levels for some selected metals.

Heavy metal levels in college drinking water

254th National Meeting (2017)

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