Identification Of Contaminants In Drinking Water

Applied Biosystems

When the mainstream media "broke" the news story in March 2008 about the contamination of drinking water with pharmaceutical and personal care products, the reaction of water testing experts and water treatment authorities was: "That's old news. We've known about it for years." This reaction contrasted with the surprise in the general public, fearful of rampantly contaminated drinking water. The hysteria conveyed through the mainstream media may have shined a new spotlight on the issues, such as the presence of estrogen, pesticides and pharmaceutical residues in parts per billion or trillion in drinking water, but it did little to deliver answers. This article discusses how LC/MS/MS methods to test for pharmaceutical and personal care products in drinking water deliver more detailed results for a wide range of contaminants.