Think Bottled Water is Safe?

[Guest guest]

Bottled Water: Pure Drink or Pure Hype?

While bottled water marketing conveys images of purity, inadequate

regulations offer no assurance.

[En Español]

Sales of bottled water in this country have exploded in recent

years, largely as a result of a public perception of purity driven

by advertisements and packaging labels featuring pristine glaciers

and crystal-clear mountain springs. But bottled water sold in the

United States is not necessarily cleaner or safer than most tap

water, according to a four-year scientific study recently made

public by NRDC.

NRDC's study included testing of more than 1,000 bottles of 103

brands of bottled water. While most of the tested waters were found

to be of high quality, some brands were contaminated: about one-

third of the waters tested contained levels of contamination --

including synthetic organic chemicals, bacteria, and arsenic -- in

at least one sample that exceeded allowable limits under either

state or bottled water industry standards or guidelines.

A key NRDC finding is that bottled water regulations are inadequate

to assure consumers of either purity or safety, although both the

federal government and the states have bottled water safety

programs. At the national level, the Food and Drug Administration is

responsible for bottled water safety, but the FDA's rules completely

exempt waters that are packaged and sold within the same state,

which account for between 60 and 70 percent of all bottled water

sold in the United States (roughly one out of five states don't

regulate these waters either). The FDA also exempts carbonated water

and seltzer, and fewer than half of the states require carbonated

waters to meet their own bottled water standards.

Even when bottled waters are covered by the FDA's rules, they are

subject to less rigorous testing and purity standards than those

which apply to city tap water (see chart below). For example,

bottled water is required to be tested less frequently than city tap

water for bacteria and chemical contaminants. In addition, bottled

water rules allow for some contamination by E. coli or fecal

coliform (which indicate possible contamination with fecal matter),

contrary to tap water rules, which prohibit any confirmed

contamination with these bacteria. Similarly, there are no

requirements for bottled water to be disinfected or tested for

parasites such as cryptosporidium or giardia, unlike the rules for

big city tap water systems that use surface water sources. This

leaves open the possibility that some bottled water may present a

health threat to people with weakened immune systems, such as the

frail elderly, some infants, transplant or cancer patients, or

people with HIV/AIDS.

Some Key Differences Between EPA Tap Water and FDA Bottled Water

Rules

Water Type Disinfection Required? Confirmed E. Coli & Fecal Coliform

Banned? Testing Frequency for Bacteria Must Filter to Remove

Pathogens, or Have Strictly Protected Source? Must Test for

Cryptosporidium, Giardia, Viruses? Testing Frequency for Most

Synthetic Organic Chemicals

Bottled Water No No 1/week No No 1/year

Carbonated or Seltzer Water No No None No No None

Big City Tap Water (using surface water) Yes Yes Hundreds/ month Yes

Yes 1/quarter

(limited waivers available if clean source)

See Table 1 of NRDC's bottled water report for further comparisons

and explanations.

Ironically, public concern about tap water quality is at least

partly responsible for the growth in bottled water sales, which have

tripled in the past 10 years. This bonanza is also fueled by

marketing designed to convince the public of bottled water's purity

and safety, marketing so successful that people spend from 240 to

over 10,000 times more per gallon for bottled water than they

typically do for tap water.

In fact, about one-fourth of bottled water is actually bottled tap

water, according to government and industry estimates (some

estimates go as high as 40 percent). And FDA rules allow bottlers to

call their product " spring water " even though it may be brought to

the surface using a pumped well, and it may be treated with

chemicals. But the actual source of water is not always made clear --

some bottled water marketing is misleading, implying the water

comes from pristine sources when it does not. In 1995, the FDA

issued labeling rules to prevent misleading claims, but while the

rules do prohibit some of the most deceptive labeling practices,

they have not eliminated the problem.

Some examples of interesting labels NRDC observed include:

" Spring Water " (with a picture of a lake surrounded by mountains on

the label) -- Was actually from an industrial parking lot next to a

hazardous waste site.

Alasika™ -- " Alaska Premium Glacier Drinking Water: Pure Glacier

Water From the Last Unpolluted Frontier, Bacteria Free " --

Apparently came from a public water supply. This label has since

been changed after FDA intervention.

Vals Water -- " Known to Generations in France for its Purity and

Agreeable Contribution to Health . . . Reputed to Help Restore

Energy, Vitality, and Combat Fatigue " -- The International Bottled

Water Association voluntary code prohibits health claims, but some

bottlers still make such claims.

NRDC makes the following recommendations for improving bottled water

safety precautions:

The FDA should set strict limits for contaminants of concern in

bottled water.

The FDA's rules should apply to all bottled water distributed

nationally or within a state, carbonated or not, and bottled water

standards must be made at least as strict as those applicable to

city tap water supplies.

Water bottlers should be required to disclose water source,

treatments and other key information as is now required of tap water

systems.

A penny-per-bottle fee should be initiated on bottled water to fund

testing, regulatory programs, and enforcement at both state and

national levels.

State bottled water programs should be subject to federal review.

Ultimately, however, while Americans who choose to buy bottled water

deserve the assurance that it is safe, the long-term solution to our

drinking water problems is to ensure that safe, clean, good-tasting

drinking water comes from our taps. Those who are particularly

concerned about the quality of their tap water can take action by 1)

calling their state drinking water program or the EPA Safe Drinking

Water Hotline (800 426-4791) for a list of state certified labs; and

2) purchasing filters certified by NSF International (800 NSF-MARK)

to remove the contaminants of special concern to the consumer (NSF

certification is not, however, a complete guarantee of safety).

[Guest guest]

Dear ,

I drink bottled distilled water. I believe it s the safest, least

contaminated water available.

All the best,

Dudley

http://profiles.yahoo.com/dudley_delany

[Guest guest]

Dear a,

This article in Mercola.com is about people who drink *only* distilled

water. I agree that drinking only distilled water is not healthful. You

also need to drink fruit and vegetable juices!

All the best,

Dudley

http://profiles.yahoo.com/dudley_delany