[Pharmwaste] Bottled water has contaminants too; study finds 2 brands violate Calif., but not US, standards

Wed Oct 15 09:44:03 EDT 2008

http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/newsletter/sns-ap-impure-bottled-wa
ter,0,7078441.story

dailypress.com
Bottled water has contaminants too; study finds 2 brands violate Calif.,
but not US, standards
By JEFF DONN

AP National Writer

12:57 AM EDT, October 15, 2008

Tests on leading brands of bottled water turned up a variety of
contaminants often found in tap water, according to a study released
Wednesday by an environmental advocacy group.

The findings challenge the popular impression - and marketing pitch -
that bottled water is purer than tap water, the researchers say.

However, all the brands met federal health standards for drinking water.
Two violated a California state standard, the study said.

An industry group branded the findings "alarmist." Joe Doss, president
of the International Bottled Water Association, said the study is based
on the faulty premise that a contaminant is a health concern "even if it
does not exceed the established regulatory limit or no standard has been
set."

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 two-year study was done by the Washington-based Environmental
Working Group, an organization founded by scientists that advocates
stricter regulation. It found the contaminants in bottled water
purchased in nine states and Washington, D.C.

Researchers tested one batch for each of 10 brands. Eight did not have
contaminants high enough to warrant further testing. But two brands did,
so more tests were done and those revealed chlorine byproducts above
California's standard, the group reported. The researchers identified
those two brands as Sam's Choice sold by Wal-Mart and Acadia of Giant
Food supermarkets.

In the Wal-Mart and Giant Food bottled water, the highest concentration
of chlorine byproducts, known as trihalomethanes, was over 35 parts per
billion. California's limit is 10 parts per billion or less, and the
industry's International Bottled Water Association makes 10 its
voluntary guideline. The federal limit is 80.

Wal-Mart said its own studies did not turn up illegal levels of
contaminants. Giant Food officials released a statement asserting that
Acadia meets all regulatory standards. Acadia is sold in the
mid-Atlantic states, so it isn't held to California's standard. In most
places, bottled water must meet roughly the same federal standards as
tap water.

The researchers also said the Wal-Mart brand was five times California's
limit for one particular chlorine byproduct, bromodichloromethane. The
environmental group wants Wal-Mart to label its bottles in California
with a warning because the chlorine-based contaminants have been linked
with cancer. It has filed a notice of intent to sue.

Wal-Mart spokeswoman Shannon Frederick said the company was "puzzled" by
the findings because testing by suppliers and another lab had detected
no "reportable amounts" of such contaminants. She said Wal-Mart would
investigate further but defended the quality of its bottled water.

The researchers recommend that people worried about water contaminants
drink tap water with a carbon filter.

___

On the Net:

Environmental Working Group: http://www.ewg.org

Deborah L. DeBiasi
Email:   dldebiasi at deq.virginia.gov
WEB site address:  www.deq.virginia.gov
Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
Office of Water Permit Programs
Industrial Pretreatment/Toxics Management Program
PPCPs, EDCs, and Microconstituents
Mail:          P.O. Box 1105, Richmond, VA  23218 (NEW!)
Location:  629 E. Main Street, Richmond, VA  23219
PH:         804-698-4028
FAX:      804-698-4032