A thorough analysis of58 pharmaceutical components in 10 brands of bottled waterproduced in Spain has detectednicotine in a concentration range between 7 and 15 ng / Lin five of the brands studied. The bottles were bought in ordinary supermarkets in Madrid and Toledo and sent to the laboratory within 24 hours. “That amount of nicotine istoo small for there to be immediate acute effects from consumption. However, so far there are no studies on chronic consumption in vulnerable populations (babies, pregnant women), and we consider that they should be carried out to find out the real risk of said population “, has declared the researcher Silvia González, co-author of the work.
Montero, from the ToxAmb Public Health and Ecotoxicology research group, considers that “there is a risk ofaquifer contaminationthat today represent a valuable natural resource of drinking water in the scenario of global warming and the expected decrease in rainfall in the Iberian Peninsula “.
Numerous studies carried out in Spanish basins and around the world show thatnicotine is a compound that is highly resistant to common cleansing treatments. In the treatment plants, the treatments are aimed at reducing or eliminating so-called priority pollutants (nitrates, phosphates, acids, etc.). However, the effectiveness of standard decontamination technologies for micro-pollutants such as nicotine, pharmaceuticals or drugs, called emerging pollutants, have not been evaluated so far.
The presence of pharmaceuticals in drinking water is not new, but this is the first study to analyze these compounds in bottled mineral water. The social perception of the quality, good conditions and safety of mineral water have generated a large increase in its consumption, amounting to 70% in the last century according to the International Bottled Water Association. Spain is the fourth country in mineral water production in the European Union.
