The aim of this study was to evaluate the bisphenol A (BPA), physicochemical properties and
microbial characterization of borehole water stored in plastic containers. Three brands of plastic containers filled with
borehole water were collected from homes in Ugbowo, Benin city. Physicochemical parameters were determined using
standard methods. Total bacterial and coliform counts were determined using the pour plate technique. Conductivity,
TDS, Chloride, Sulphate and Nitrate were within the recommended standards while turbidity and total iron were above
recommended standards. The isolates identified include:
Klebsiella
sp,
Bacillus
sp,
E. coli
,
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
,
Aspergillus flavus
,
Saccharomyces sp
and
Aspergillus niger
. The total bacterial count in the water samples ranged from
1.4×10
3cfu/ml to1.8×10
3cfu/ml at week four while fungal counts was 1.3×10
2cfu/ml to 1.6×10
2cfu/ml. Bisphenol A
(BPA) was discovered to leach at detectable levels from the plastic containers as storage increased. The result of the
Bisphenol A analysis revealed that BPA congeners ranged from 0.023mg/l within days of collection to 0.251ml/l at the
fourth week of storage. This study has shown that storage of borehole water in plastic containers for prolonged period
affects the bacteriological and chemical properties of the water; hence storage of borehole water in plastic for prolonged
periods should be discouraged and discontinued.
