supermarket
Health Department
WATER, WATER, EVERYWHERE…
BUT IS IT SAFE TO DRINK?
February 5, 2008
Let’s just face facts; the human body, which in its magnificent design is comprised of the stuff, cannot continue to survive without a healthy supply of clean, potable drinking water. Considering that over 1 billion citizens of planet earth have no access to clean water, we in the industrialized nations (particularly the United States) are beyond “fortunate” to have one of the best supplies of drinking water in the world.
Regarding municipal tap water: The Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974 requires the EPA to establish national drinking water standards; i.e., maximum contaminant levels. (MCL). By 1990 the EPA had set maximum levels of only 65 of at least 700 potential pollutants. Of the chemicals found in drinking water that have been tested, 97 cause cancers, 82 cause mutations, 28 are toxic, and 23 promote tumors in test animals. Consequently, by 1995, the EPA was required by Congress to set new standards for 108 drinking water contaminants.
Municipal tap water is processed as follows:
Water from a lake, reservoir, river, or well is pumped to a treatment plant. At the treatment plant, (1) chlorine is added to kill bacteria, (2) alum (aluminum sulfate) is added to coagulate organic particles, (3) the water is put into a settling basin to let the precipitate settle, (4) it is then filtered through sand filters, (5) treated with lime to adjust the pH, and (6) put into a storage reservoir until delivery to homes and businesses through the pipes. – www.elmhurst.edu
Of all these solutions, chlorine is possibly the most suspect, because it may react to form minute concentrations of some carcinogenic (cancer-causing) compounds. However, if the bacteria in the water are not killed by chlorine, a person has a greater chance of dying from water-borne diseases. Any unfortunate soul who has ever suffered from amoebic dysentery while traveling in a foreign country understands this all too well.
Also, contemporary (read: non-eco-friendly) farming methods have utilized billions of pounds of pesticides, herbicides, and artificial fertilizers. These and improper wash water disposal (automotive car wash facilities, public grocery cart sterilization with improperly contained runoff, etc.) pollute surface and ground water on an extraordinary scale.
Another issue, potentially overshadowing the presence of additives, is the distressing fact that many otherwise modern, thriving cities have been found to be operating with aging water pipes. Anyone who lives in one of these cities could be at significant risk for infectious as well as chemical contamination of his or her drinking water.
Of course, the oft-used alternative to drinking, preparing food, or brushing one’s teeth with water directly from the tap is to use bottled water. In 1990, about 1 in 17 American consumers spent over $2 billion to buy bottled water with an average price 700 times that of tap water. Water bottling companies can legally get their water from springs, wells, or public water from the tap. Here is an interest fact; though: more than one third of the bottled water sold in the U.S. comes from the same ground water and surface waters that provide municipal tap water. Sellers are not required to identify on their labels the source of the water or the type of purifying equipment, if any, used.
Bottled water is not regulated by the EPA; rather it is regulated by the FDA. The FDA to date requires bottlers to check only 22 of the 30 chemicals tested for in the tap water provided by municipalities. Only bottled water marketed over state lines must meet all federal drinking-water standards, and testing is required every one to four years, except for bacteria, which are tested every week. Bottlers are not required to submit test results to the EPA, as do the municipalities. FDA inspectors check bottling plants only every few (2-3) years. Mineral water is not regulated by the FDA or any other agency.
An important consideration before ingesting even any bottled water (let alone unfiltered tap water) is whether the bottler belongs to the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) and adheres to the testing requirements. The IBWA requires its members to test for 181 contaminants. It then sends an inspector from the National Sanitation Foundation, a private lab, to bottling plants annually to check all pertinent records. By 1991, IBWA water testing standards were required in 15 states. Green retailer, to ensure that your bottled water for sale meets impeccable standards, SMGN recommends that you look up your particular water product at the IBWA website: http://www.bottledwater.org/buyersguide.
To your health, consumers (SMGN metaphorically hoists an imaginary glass of water.)!!
By Lisa Carvin, Freelance Reporter