Bottled water has contaminants too, researchers say
Posted October 15th, 2008 at 12:21 pm by Kim
The label may picture a pristine mountain stream or a bubbling spring, but bottled water’s squeaky-clean image doesn’t show the big picture: the contaminants that may be hidden in every swig. A two-year study by the Washington-based Environmental Working Group, an organization founded by scientists that advocates stricter regulation, found contaminants in bottled water purchased in nine states and Washington, D.C.
The study’s lab tests on 10 brands of bottled water detected 38 chemicals including bacteria, caffeine, the pain reliever acetaminophen, fertilizer, solvents, plastic-making chemicals and the radioactive element strontium. Though some probably came from tap water that some companies use for their bottled water, other contaminants probably leached from plastic bottles, the researchers said.
“In some cases, it appears bottled water is no less polluted than tap water and, at 1,900 times the cost, consumers should expect better,” said Jane Houlihan, an environmental engineer who co-authored the study.
The International Bottled Water Association objects that the study portrays the presence of contaminants at levels below regulatory limits as a concern. Getting their money’s worth is everyone’s concern these days, however, and paying more than 1000 times more for a product that doesn’t live up to its marketing just doesn’t make sense. If consumers aren’t getting ultra-pure water for that price, then they must be paying for the paper-thin image of a green environment. Switching to filtered tap water, as the scientists in the study recommend, will go a long way towards actually preserving our natural resources.
Take the pledge to break the bottled water habit.
Read the complete article from the Associated Press.
Posted in Bottled Water, News, Water resources | 
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I can’t believe peole are still buying into bottled water garbage. It’s an embarassment. Stop wasting your money and our public common!
posted on October 16th, 2008 at 9:17 pmÂ
Could you post the whole list of bottled waters that are involved in these contaminants?
posted on October 19th, 2008 at 4:26 pmI could only see two Brands. Which oters are involved?
Hi, Diana,
You can see the original Environmental Working Group article here: http://www.ewg.org/reports/bottledwater
posted on October 24th, 2008 at 7:16 amI have posted a notice about the New American Dream campaign on my water-related websites using your great widget!
posted on November 10th, 2008 at 12:34 pmHere is a link to one of them:
http://www.visionsparetreat.com/2008/10/breaking-the-bottled-water-habit.html
I’ve just come across another campaign to ‘end bottled water’: http://www.endbottledwater.com.
They’ve developed a personal, reusable water bottle (the Wellness H2.O) that features a unique filtration system that they say not only purifies ordinary tap water, but also enhances the water for better absorption and hydration. With this special filtration process you’d have access to high quality water wherever you go.
Over the life of a single Wellness H2.O water bottle they suggest you will eliminate the need for over 1100 plastic bottles and all of the monetary and environmental costs associated with collecting, bottling, warehousing.
That seems like a good solution to the problem of contamination.
But in the long run we’ve just got to address the sources of contamination.
Thanks for your great service to dream.
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[...] by any means. Nonetheless, it’s there for your reading pleasure. If you want more to think about, check out this post about contaminants in bottled versus tap water! We’ve got all this information that empowers us [...]
posted on March 24th, 2009 at 2:55 pm