Application of Total Reflection XRF to Elemental Studies of Drinking Water

The aim of this work was to study the water quality, especially metallic pollution, at water treatment plants and inside buildings. The samples were collected in two regions of Portugal and in one of these regions water collection was also made inside houses chosen according to their type of plumbing, in order to compare its influence on metal concentrations in the drinking water. The analyses were carried out by total-reflection x-ray fluorescence without sample preconcentration. The detection limits were in the range 0.5-1.7 μg l -1 for Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Rb, Sr, Hg and Pb and 4.9-11 μg l -1 for K, Ca, V, Cd, Sb and Ba.