Objective To evaluate water quality in automatic water vending machines in Pudong New Area of Shanghai, and to investigate their sanitary status and so as to ensure the safety of drinking water.
Methods A total of 110 out of 1 100 automatic water vending machines were randomly selected and inspected using drinking water quality index (DWQI).
Results Among the 110 machines detected, 46.36%, 36.36%, 16.36%, 0.90% and 0.00% were respectively rated "marginal", "good", "poor", "very poor" and "excellent" in water quality.
Conclusion DWQI is a practical and rapid method to evaluate the water quality in automatic water vending machines. This study highlights that the water quality from automatic vendor machines in Pudong New Area of Shanghai needs to be improved. Both the government and the public health department should enforce the surveillance of water vendors.
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