Report on Bottled Water Danger
In March of 1999, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) released a report called “Bottled Water, Pure Drink or Pure Hype?” and petitioned the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for improvements in the FDA’s bottled water regulation program. The changes called for would simply require that the FDA’s bottled water rules be “no less stringent” than EPA’s tap water guidelines and “no less protective of public health.” NRDC ’s report points out that as much as 40% to 50%of all bottled water is actually tap water in a bottle.
The report also focuses heavily on the fact that 60 to 70% of all bottled water sold in the U.S. is exempt from FDA’s bottled water standards, because the Federal Standards do not apply to water bottled and sold within the same state.
Only water that is transported across a state line is required to meet federal standards.
Bottled water companies, especially the larger ones, have used this loop hole to avoid complying with basic health standards, such as those that apply to municipally treated tap water. Also, all carbonated or sparkling waters are completely exempt from FDA guidelines that set specific contamination limits.
These following examples are quotes from the NRDC’s official report:
– City tap water can have no confirmed E.coli or fecal coliform bacteria. FDA bottled water rules include no such prohibition (a certain amount of any type of coliform bacteria is allowed in bottled water).
– City tap water, from surface water, must be filtered and disinfected. In contrast, there are no federal filtration or disinfection requirements for bottled water.
– Most cities using surface water have had to test for Cryptosporidium or Giardia, two common water pathogens, that can cause diarrhea and other intestinal problems, yet bottled water companies do not have to do this.
– City tap water must meet standards for certain important toxic or cancer-causing chemicals, such as phthalates; some in the industry have persuaded FDA to exempt bottled water from the regulations regarding these chemicals.
– City water systems must issue annual “right to know” reports (Mud Reports), telling consumers what is in their water. Bottlers successfully killed a “right to know” requirement for bottled water.
– The Natural Resources Defense Council report concluded that: “Therefore, while much tap water is indeed risky, having compared available data, we conclude that there is no assurance that bottled water is any safer than tap water.” (The NRDC report on bottled water can be found at NRDC.org)
The reality of bottled water is that people pay from $1 to $4 a gallon for the perception of higher quality, when in fact, the quality of bottled water is at best “unknown” — We have no way of knowing the actual quality of bottled water. Portable Water Filters and Water Filter Bottles, along with with a quality in home water filtration system, is by far the most economical, the most convenient and the most capable of producing the highest quality, healthy water. Removing the chlorine and other contaminants at the point of use, just prior to consumption, in your own home, with a system that is documented to produce “healthy water” or “pure water” just makes more sense. With a water filter you can have guaranteed quality for about .02 to .10 a gallon vs. $1 to $4 a gallon for bottled. Like the saying says, “If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself,” and that’s certainly the case when it comes to something as important as our drinking water.
