NEWS
Heavy metal measurement for discharge monitoring
BILANZ QUALITAT® presents portable and online instruments for real-time measurement of metals in water and other fluids.
One of the major environmental pollution problems in water bodies is the presence of heavy metals. Unlike other chemical species, they are highly toxic and not biodegradable, so they accumulate in the food chain, soils and water bodies and ultimately reach humans, who may ingest them through drinking water or food.
Heavy metals are a group of high-density chemical elements that, even at low concentrations, accumulate in the body, causing toxicity, bioaccumulation, organ damage, behavioural changes and cognitive impairment. The specific symptoms depend on the type of metal and its concentration.
The metals most likely to be found in water include arsenic, mercury, cadmium, nickel, copper, chromium and lead.
Heavy metals in water may be of anthropogenic or natural origin.
Anthropogenic sources result from human activity: wastewater and leachates, mainly from mining, industry and landfills, being carried into springs or rivers.
Natural sources result from enrichment as water passes through metal-bearing substrates during the water cycle.
Because determining metals is complex, portable and continuous instruments are needed to measure them as quickly and simply as possible so that decisions can be taken immediately, given that they can cause toxicity or bioaccumulation in living organisms.
Prolonged exposure to heavy metals leads to their accumulation in the body, where they can cause a range of symptoms and conditions, such as:
- Diarrhoea
- Nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain
- Tingling in the limbs
- Dyspnoea
- Chills
- Weakness
- Carcinogenic mutations
- Liver and kidney damage, as heavy metals tend to accumulate in the organs responsible for detoxification
- Neurological disorders, such as intellectual disability in children
- Cardiovascular disease
- Respiratory conditions
- Anaemia and other blood disorders
- Osteoporosis and other bone metabolism disorders
- Fertility problems
- Skin lesions
- Miscarriages, high-risk pregnancies and a higher prevalence of congenital diseases
It is therefore essential to identify and control sources of heavy metal pollution and prevent these metals from spreading into the environment.
BILANZ QUALITAT® offers portable metal meters that can measure different metals with a simple change of electrode and log the data obtained.
We also offer single-parameter and multi-parameter continuous analysers, with one or two electrodes, that can transmit and store data and take decisions autonomously. A single instrument can measure several metals at the same time.
Our instruments can currently measure the following metals:
METALS |
Cd, Cu, Mn, Pb, Sb(III), Sn, Tl, Zn |
As total, As(III), Hg, Se(IV), Te |
Ag, Au, Cr(VI), Hg |
Co, Fe, Ni |
Co, Cr, Cr(VI), Mo, Ni, U |
