Interpreting the amendments to the decree of the Minister of Health of 29 March 2007 regarding the quality of potable water

Omówiono zasadnicze zmiany w przepisach dotyczących jakości wody przeznaczonej do spożycia przez ludzi, wprowadzone w życie rozporządzeniem Ministra Zdrowia z 29 marca 2007 r. Zmiana układu wymagań w odniesieniu do wskaźników jakości wody zawartych we wcześniej obowiązującym rozporządzeniu z 2002 r. miała na celu wypełnienie zaleceń unijnej dyrektywy 98/83/WE z 3 listopada 1998 r. w sprawie jakości wody przeznaczonej do spożycia. Podkreślono, że dokonana zmiana nie polega na ścisłym dostosowaniu polskich przepisów do wymagań UE, lecz na urealnieniu wymagań w odniesieniu do wskaźników mających bezpośredni wpływ na bezpieczeństwo zdrowotne wody. Stwierdzono, że zmiany w przepisach będą wymagały przygotowania przedsiębiorstw wodociągowych do pełnej kontroli laboratoryjnej produkowanej wody, chociaż nie jest możliwe, aby małe stacje wodociągowe mogły objąć swój wyrób własnym nadzorem laboratoryjnym w pełnym zakresie monitoringu Jest to kolejny poważny problem wymagający kompleksowego rozwiązania w skali całego kraju, a nie tylko poszczególnych wodociągów.Basic amendments to the regulations concerning potable water quality (put into effect in virtue of the Decree of the Minister of Health of 29 March 2007) are discussed. The purpose of introducing changes into the system of demands made on water quality parameters (specified in the Decree of 2002 which was still in force) was to ensure compliance with the Directive 98/83/EU of 3 November 1998 that pertained to the quality of tap water. It has been emphasized that the amendments do not consist in a strict matching of Polish regulations to relevant EU postulates but that the requirements concerning the water quality parameters which exert a direct effect on human health have to be adjusted to reality. It has been stated that the amendments will create the need for water producers to provide full and reliable laboratory monitoring and control of their product, though small waterworks do not seem to be able to establish their own systems of laboratory supervision and full-scale monitoring of the water produced. The problem raises serious concern and calls for joint solutions on a nationwide scale

Heath risk assessment in the light of polish and EU directives for drinking water quality

On September 19, 2000 the Polish Clean Water Act (based on the Order of the Minister of Health, which defines the quality parameters of the water to be used for drinking and household purposes, as well as in swimming pools) came into force. The Act has also established the principles of water quality control by Sanitary Inspectors. In the present paper, consideration is given to the admissible values of particular water pollutants, which are compared with those recommended by the EU Directive 98/83/EC and WHO Guidelines. Attention is also focused on the concomitant technological and analytical problems which may result from the need of adjusting Poland's legislation to that of the European Union

Occurrence of aquatic organisms in water piping and the resulting problems of drinking water disinfection.Part I.

Stwierdzono, że w uzdatnionej wodzie wodociągowej występują martwe i żywe organizmy planktonowe, których liczebność wynosi od kilku do kilku tysięcy osobników. Mogą one stać się przyczyną wtórnego zanieczyszczenia bakteryjnego wody dezynfekowanej, a tym samym stanowią poważny problem w uzdatnianiu wody do picia.The present text is the first part of a paper aimed at specification of the requirements ensuring effective disinfection of drinking water. The discussed health hazards result not only from the presence of pathogenic microorganisms in water, but also from the occurrence of micro-and macroscopic plant and animal organisms. It was shown that while the traditional method for water treatment and disinfection reduces the number of these organisms, it fails to eliminate them completely, particularly in the case of tap water intake from shore intakes of surface waters

Assessment of drinking water quality in terms of former and present regulations in Poland

The quality of the water supplied to the user is generally claimed to be poor. Making use of the results obtained in 2000, a comparative assessment of drinking water quality was carried out in terms of former and present national regulations. It was found that the evaluated number of users exposed to excessive concentrations of ammonia, arsenic, b(a)p, trichloromethane, aluminium, cadmium, nitrates, chlorides and fluorides was the same, irrespective of whether the previous or the present water quality regulations were taken into account. However, when water quality was assessed in terms of recent regulations, the exposure to excessive concentration of iron and manganese became twice as high, to coloured matter 2.5 times as high, to turbidity 5 times as high, and to lead 70 times as high as when use was made of the former regulations. Excessive lead concentrations were detected predominantly in groundwater, which is generally regarded as being safe. On the basis of the results obtained, the following geneneralisations can be made: To reduce health hazards, it is necessary to implement advanced water treatment technologies. On the other hand, unlike the common belief, in 90% of instances the quality of drinking water supplied to the users is good, irrespective of whether assessed in previous or recent regulations