Inorganic Ions and Metals

The normal daily water consumption of adults is almost all of which consist of drinking water such as tap water or mineral water. Each country has regulations that require testing of the safety and condition of drinking water.
For inorganic ions, chlorate is derived from impurities in sodium hypochlorite,which is used as a disinfectant in the process of waterpurification. Bromate in tap water is generated by advanced water treatment processes.
Chlorate and bromate, which may have an adverse effect on human health, have been added to the water quality standards of Japan for tap water. In Japan, the analytical method has been designated in ”Method Determined by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare on the Basis of the Ordinance Provisions Relating to Water Quality Standards”. In USA, ASTM D6919-03 specifies an ion chromatographic method for analyzing the six cations in drinking water and wastewater.
For metals, items tested for include high concentration elements whitch are present at 10 mg/L or higher, and trace elements whitch are present at 10 μg/L or lower. Consequently, analytical instruments are required to perform a wide range of measurements with high sensitivity, where it is preferred the items to be tested are done so simultaneously. ICPMS could be used to analyze tap water and mineral water.