gethealthy

Some recent tests on well-known brands of bottled water have turned up some disturbing results.  Some of the results included chemicals that have been linked to cancer in amounts that are 3 times higher than California’s health standards.

These results are challenging the popular misconception that bottled water is better than tap water.
Despite the fact that contaminants were found, all of the brands tested met federal health standards for drinking water and many of the contaminants found are also found in tap water.

Lab tests detected 38 chemicals in 10 different brands of water, with an average of about 8 contaminants in each kind of bottled water.  The contaminants that were found to be present were: coliform bacteria, caffeine,  acetaminophen( a pain reliever), fertilizer, solvents, chemicals used to make plastic, and the radioactive element strontium.

Water was purchased from California, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware.
Researchers tested one batch out of 10 brands, eight of which did not contain troubling levels of contaminants.  However, 2 brands showed chlorine byproducts that exceeded California’s standards.  The two brands that did not meet standards were Sam’s Choice (Wal-Mart) and Acadia (Giant Food supermarkets.

The other eight brands contained legal levels of many different contaminants, some of which (arsenic and toluene) have been linked to health risks.  A portion of the contaminants came from pollutants that are normally found in tap water and others probably resulted from the use of plastic bottles.

 Sam’s Choice and Acadia waters contained the highest concentration of chlorine byproducts (trihalomethanes), exceeded 35 parts per billion.  California’s water standards require 10 parts per billion or less, while the federal limit is 80.

Sam’s Choice water from Wal-Mart also exceeded the California safety limit by 5 times for another chlorine byproduct, bromodichloromethane.

 The level of trihalomethanes are of the biggest concern because they have been strongly linked to cancer.

Groups linked to the survey are pushing for labels that disclose contaminant information and warning labels that illustrate how it can be harmful.