Application of Voltammetry in the Assessment of Some Metal Ions in Drinking Water Samples in Al-Baha City, Saudi Arabia

Objectives Metal ions such as, Cd (II), Pb (II), Cu (II), and Zn (II) in drinking water samples were investigated by employing differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV) at carbon paste electrode (CPE). Material and methods The investigated samples were collected from Al-Baha city, KSA. The samples were taken from eight sampling regions. The effects of various factors were examined. The lower limits of the investigated metal ions at 150s deposition time (n= 5) are 0.314 µg L -1 (r = 0.9899) for zinc(II), 0.368 µg L -1 (r = 0.8992) for cadmium(II), 1.28 µg L -1 (r = 0.9899) for lead(II) and 0.118 µg L -1 (r = 0.9998) for copper(II), respectively. Results The assessments of the investigated metal ions in drinking water were in the range for Zn (II) (0.42–68.5 µg L -1 with SD= 0.13–0.96, n= 5), Cd(II) (0.29–0.87 µg L -1 with SD = 0.03–1.02, n= 5), Pb(II) (1.5–22.35 µg L -1 with SD = 0.08–0.73, n = 5), and for Cu(II) (0.58–2.58 µg L -1 with SD = 0.02–0.85, n= 5), respectively. The resulting data were compared with those estimated by the atomic absorption spectrophotometric technique. The interfering and the storage conditions of the samples were examined. Conclusion The determined concentrations were within internationally accepted drinking water standards, indicating the suitability and the instantaneous estimation of the proposed method for trace metal analysis in water samples.