European Union Drinking Water Directive

Saponins for beverage use are sourced from quillaia bark (Quillaia saponaria Molina) and the yuccas. Of the latter species, two main varieties are used in the United States for production of the water extract the Mohave yucca (Yucca mohavensis) and the Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia). At the levels used these additives are colourless and tasteless the dried extract, however, possesses an acrid, astringent taste. Permitted limits are quoted in terms of the dry weight of the extract. In the European Union, subject to Directive 95/2/EC, quillaia is permitted only in non-alcoholic drinks, to a maximum level of 200 mg/1. 

A characteristic example of the performance of IC/ICP-OES is the spedation of chromium [190,191]. Due to it widespread use in industrial applications such as chromium plating, dye manufacturing, and preservation of wood and leather materials, chromium concentrations in environmental samples are monitored on a routine basis. Both the US EPA and the European Union have specified maximum admissible chromium concentrations in their respective drinking water directives. As with many other trace elements, chromium (Cr) is typically found in more than one chemical form, each of which with different chemical properties and behavior, such as bioavailability and toxicity. The spedation analysis of chromium is a challenging task, since the stability of different chromium species is easily affected by conditions during sample collection and treatment. For... 

In the case of Cd in drinking water the performance criteria are clearly speci-bed as 10 percent for both trueness and precision. Therefore, it is rather surprising to see PT providers stating assigned standard deviations of 5, 7, 10, or even 14 percent for Cd in water, in compliance with the WFD. This is because some PT providers only consider trueness, others, in turn, combine trueness and precision. Some consider precision properly, others take it as a direct estimate of the normalization factor. To improve such situations, the European Union initiated the CoEPT project to study the differences and similarities in the operation of PT schemes and the evaluation of PT results in view of implementing a harmonized approach to provide a basis for the comparability of the PT schemes operated on the market [70]. 

In the European Union, because of the general view that there should be no pesticides in drinking water, a precautionary principle is applied, and standards are set as low as is reasonably achievable. EEC directive 98/83/CE for drinking water therefore set limit values at 0.1 /rg/1 for each individual pesticide and 0.5 /rg/1 for total pesticides. For surface water used to produce drinking water, these values are 2 /rg/1 for each individual substance and 5 /rg/1 for total pesticides. 

European Union Directive 98/83 underlines the importance of determining the quality of drinking water in order to protect human health. In particular, a number of chemical compounds are listed, such as benzene, 1,2-dichloroethane, tetrachloroeth-ylene, chloroform, and trihalomethanes, whose concentration in drinking water must be kept under well-defined thresholds. In Italy, laws DL 31/01, DM 152/99, and DM 471/99 set the norms for the concentrations of these, and of many other compounds in drinking water, wastewater, and contaminated sites, respectively. 

Subsequently, the 1980 CEC Directive 80/778/EEC became the first directive dealing with water quality in the European Union, including the Pb content in drinking water. It came into force on July 15, 1980. There were 66 contaminants identified for regulation via stated limit values by July 15, 1987 these were enacted into law by July 15, 1982. 

Councii Directive 98/83/EC (adopted November 3, 1998) Lowered the drinking water Pb standard in the European Union to 10 pg Pb/I on an extended reduction schedule, 15 years, to 2013. From 2003 to 2013, an interim level of 25 pg/l was implemented... 

European Commission (2008). The quality of drinking water in the European Union. Synthesis report on the quality of drinking water in the Member States of the European Union in the period 1999-2001 Directive 80/778/EEC, 14 April 2008. 

National or European directives regulate the presence of metallic cations in drinking water. The maximum allowed concentration of chromium and mercury within the European Union is... 

---