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. 2019 Nov 23;19(23):5134. doi: 10.3390/s19235134

Table 1.

Guidelines for water quality and standard detection methods.

Canada 1 US 2 Europe 3 WHO 4 Standard Method *
pH 7.0–10.5 6.5–8.5 6.5–9.5 -
Barium 1 ppm 2 ppm - 1.3 ppm ICP-MS a (200.8, 7440-39-3)
ICP-AES b (200.7, 7440-39-3)
FAAS c (7000B, 7440-39-3)
Cadmium 5 ppb 5 ppb 5 ppb 3 ppb ICP-MS (200.8, 7440-43-9)
ICP-AES (200.7, 7440-43-9)
FAAS (7000B, 7440-43-9)
Chromium 50 ppb 100 ppb 50 ppb 50 ppb ICP-MS (200.8, 7440-47-3)
ICP-AES (200.7, 7440-47-3)
FAAS (7000B, 7440-47-3)
Copper 2 ppm 1.3 ppm 2 ppm 2 ppm ICP-MS (200.8, 7440-50-8)
ICP-AES (200.7, 7440-50-8)
FAAS (7000B, 7440-50-8)
Hardness - - - - ICP-AES (200.7, 7440-70-2 (Ca), 7439-95-4 (Mg))
FAAS (7000B, 7440-70-2 (Ca), 7439-95-4 (Mg))
Lead 5 ppb ALARA 15 ppb ALARA 10 ppb 10 ppb ICP-MS (200.8, 7439-92-1)
ICP-AES (200.7, 7439-92-1)
FAAS (7000B, 7439-92-1)
Mercury 1 ppb 2 ppb 1 ppb 6 ppb ICP-MS (200.8, 7439-97-6)
ICP-AES (200.7, 7439-97-6)
Nickel - - 20 ppb 70 ppb ICP-MS (200.8, 7440-02-0)
ICP-AES (200.7, 7440-02-0)
FAAS (7000B, 7440-02-0)
Silver - - - 100 ppb REC ICP-MS (200.8, 7440-22-4)
ICP-AES (200.7, 7440-22-4)
FAAS (7000B, 7440-22-4)
Uranium 20 ppb 30 ppb - 30 ppb ICP-MS (200.8, 7440-61-1)
Zinc 5 ppm - - - ICP-MS (200.8, 7440-66-6)
ICP-AES (200.7, 7440-66-6)
FAAS (7000B, 7440-66-6)

1 Health Canada: Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality. 2018. 2 United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): National Primary Drinking Water Regulations. 2018. 3 European Union: European Drinking Water Directive. 2019. 4 World Health Organization: Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality. 2017. * Listed are the EPA methods in this format: [method] ([method number], [CASRN]). a Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. b Inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy. c Flame atomic absorption spectroscopy. ALARA = as low as reasonably achievable; REC = recommended