Occurrence and Assessment of Selected Chemical Contaminants in Drinking Water from Eastern Romania

In this study we report on the chemical quality evaluation of drinking water samples collected from Eastern Romania with the main aim on determining the compliance with the official regulation and its influence on the human health for the population living in this area. Therefore, we have collected paired water samples from multiple locations during two seasonal phases (summer and fall) in total being analyzed a number of 80 drinking water samples. By using national standard analytical methodologies, the chemical parameters targeted for analyses included: nitrates, nitrites, ammonium, sulfates, chlorides, trihalometans and organochlorine pesticides. After chemical analysis and data processing 77% among samples were found to be compliant with the Romanian regulation. However, 10% of the samples presented levels above the regulation limits for nitrates and ammonium. Additionally, organochlorine pesticides were measured at levels above the method limits of detection in all analyzed samples while occasionally the pesticide levels were significantly above the regulatory limits. Given the potential health risks on humans health acknowledged for the contaminants measured at high levels in collected samples and combined with the previous literature in the field, this study evidenced the needs for continuous monitoring of drinking water quality at least for the Eastern part of Romania.