Bottled water and tap water have the same level of chemical contaminants, according to an October, 2008, study.
The study, conducted by the Environmental Working Group, a Washington, DC, activist group, looked at 10 bottled water brands purchased in nine states and the District of Columbia. It found 38 chemical pollutants altogether, with an average of 8 contaminants in each brand. Four brands were also contaminated with bacteria.(http://www.ewg.org/reports/bottledwater)
Two of the brands, Walmart's and Giant's store brands, were chemically indistinguishable from tap water, containing chlorine disinfectant byproducts. Giant's brand also contained fluoride. These levels of chlorine byproducts exceeded the safety standards set by the bottled water industry and the state of California.
The tests, conducted at the University of Iowa Hygienic Laboratory, revealed a variety of pollutants like caffeine and Tylenol, arsenic, radioactive isotopes, fertilizer residues nitrate and ammonia, and various other chemicals used as solvents, plasticizers, propellants, and so on.
The researchers conducted an additional test, intended to measure estrogen-mimicking, carcinogenic chmicals found in plastic bottles typically used for bottled water. Breast-cancer cells in a lab dish were given water samples from the study and compared to a control. One brand spurred a 78 percent increase in the breast cancer cells, as compared to the control.
Bottled water isn't necessarily any safer than water from the tap. The laws governing it are based on tap water standards, after all. The EPA's tap water standards form the basis for the FDA's bottled water standards, the EPA points out (www.epa.gov/ogwdw/faq/faq.html). But that's not the perception by many Americans, who are drinking 9 billion gallons of bottled water per year, spending an average of $3.79 per gallon for it.
It seems clear that spending money on bottled water, only to get the same quality as tap water, isn't wise. Instead, let's consider a home water filter. A filter at your kitchen sink or icemaker can provide your family with plenty of clean pure water, bottled in safe containers you choose, such as stainless steel or glass. Such pure healthy water can be yours for only 8 cents per gallon. - 17943
The study, conducted by the Environmental Working Group, a Washington, DC, activist group, looked at 10 bottled water brands purchased in nine states and the District of Columbia. It found 38 chemical pollutants altogether, with an average of 8 contaminants in each brand. Four brands were also contaminated with bacteria.(http://www.ewg.org/reports/bottledwater)
Two of the brands, Walmart's and Giant's store brands, were chemically indistinguishable from tap water, containing chlorine disinfectant byproducts. Giant's brand also contained fluoride. These levels of chlorine byproducts exceeded the safety standards set by the bottled water industry and the state of California.
The tests, conducted at the University of Iowa Hygienic Laboratory, revealed a variety of pollutants like caffeine and Tylenol, arsenic, radioactive isotopes, fertilizer residues nitrate and ammonia, and various other chemicals used as solvents, plasticizers, propellants, and so on.
The researchers conducted an additional test, intended to measure estrogen-mimicking, carcinogenic chmicals found in plastic bottles typically used for bottled water. Breast-cancer cells in a lab dish were given water samples from the study and compared to a control. One brand spurred a 78 percent increase in the breast cancer cells, as compared to the control.
Bottled water isn't necessarily any safer than water from the tap. The laws governing it are based on tap water standards, after all. The EPA's tap water standards form the basis for the FDA's bottled water standards, the EPA points out (www.epa.gov/ogwdw/faq/faq.html). But that's not the perception by many Americans, who are drinking 9 billion gallons of bottled water per year, spending an average of $3.79 per gallon for it.
It seems clear that spending money on bottled water, only to get the same quality as tap water, isn't wise. Instead, let's consider a home water filter. A filter at your kitchen sink or icemaker can provide your family with plenty of clean pure water, bottled in safe containers you choose, such as stainless steel or glass. Such pure healthy water can be yours for only 8 cents per gallon. - 17943
About the Author:
Bottled water is a waste of money. A home water filter can keep your loved ones safe and do it for little money--get pure clean water for just 8 cents per gallon, at your kitchen sink. Your body needs water with certain trace minerals, so select a system that leaves those in and takes out harmful chemicals, minerals, bacteria and chlorine byproducts. http://www.home-water-filter.info
