Some aspects related to the presence of aluminium in waters

Aluminium is present in very small amounts in living organisms but it is abundant in the environment, where it exists in forms with low availability to man and most biological species. Despite its abundance in the earth's crust only a small amount of aluminium is present in waters, with concentrations varying from a few tens to some hundreds of micrograms per liter. High levels of aluminium in drinking water are in most cases due either to acid precipitation or water treatment with aluminium salts. The presence of aluminium in dialysis fluids has been recognized as the major reason for development of aluminium toxicity in patients with renal failure. In subjects with normal renal function, high concentrations of this element in drinking water (> 80 micrograms/l) have been related to an elevated incidence of Alzheimer's disease, even though the real contribution of the element in the development of the disease has not yet been clarified.