Potentially Toxic Elements (PTEs) in Bottled Water (Mineral and Drinking) Distributed in Different Seasons in Tehran, Iran: A Health Risk Assessment Study

The purpose of this study was to determine twelve potentially toxic elements (PTEs), encompassing aluminum (Al), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), mercury (Hg), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), antimony (Sb), vanadium (V), and zinc (Zn), in 120 samples of bottled water (mineral and drinking) collected from the market in Tehran, Iran, during the winter and summer seasons. The bottled water samples were assessed using an inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Furthermore, non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic health risks were evaluated for adults and children using hazard quotient (HQ), hazard index (HI), and cancer risk (CR). The maximum content of PTEs was attributed to Zn in bottled drinking water in winter, and the minimum content was attributed to V in bottled mineral water in summer. There was a significant difference in the concentration of Cu and Zn in the summer and winter (p < 0.05). Also, the concentration of Ni, V, and Zn in bottled drinking water and bottled mineral water revealed a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05). In all cases, the values of THQ and HI were less than one and were acceptable. CR values for Cr and Ni were unacceptable.