Determination of bromate in drinking water: development of laboratory and field methods

The European Directive (1998) for water intended for human consumption has lowered the regulatory level for bromate down to 10 μg/l (50 μg/l until 1998). As a result of the revision of this directive, there is a need for the development of methods that allows its implementation and to monitor bromate formation on-site particularly. To support the implementation of this directive, the European Commission funded a 30 month project which aimed at identifying interferences of the current ion chromatography with conductivity detection method, means to remove them and automation of the pre-treatment and injection steps. This project led to the development of alternative laboratory and field-based methods.