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Environmental Health

Bottled Water: The 'Healthy Choice' That Can Cause Cancer...


Date: 29/09/11
 
The makers of the film 'Tapped' expose the global bottled water industry as one of the biggest health cons of our time.When you factor in the harmful chemicals in plastic bottles, the environmental impact of plastic waste and the pollution caused by plastic manufacturing plants, bottled water becomes a losing proposition no matter how you look at it. When you factor in the harmful chemicals in plastic bottles, like BPA and dioxin, as well as the environmental impact of plastic waste and the pollution caused by plastic manufacturing plants, bottled water becomes a losing proposition no matter how you look at it.

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It's everywhere... from your local newsagent to your gym... you'll find this fad that we've all bought into. I'm talking about bottled water! Since the 70s we've been told that it's the healthier option and much safer and more pure than tap water, isn't that right?

In fact, I couldn't have agreed more and until yesterday I carried a bottle of water with me everywhere I went. That's changed now. Not because I stopped believing in the importance of drinking enough water each day, but simply because I saw a documentary film that absolutely shocked me!

Toxic mixture disguised as a healthy choice

The makers of the film 'Tapped' expose the global bottled water industry as one of the biggest health cons of our time. Aside from the fact that we are all paying good money for something that is free, we are also damaging our health and contributing to the demise of the environment in the process!

In most cases, bottled water is packaged in plastic. The fact is that these plastic containers harbour a toxic chemical called Bisphenol A or BPA (a synthetic oestrogen), used to harden plastics. BPA is one of the world's most widely manufactured chemicals, with more than 2.2 million tons made each year.

Studies have shown that BPA increases sperm DNA damage in men and can also cause structural damage to the brain. It also increases fat formation and the risk of obesity, compromises your immunity, stimulates prostate cancer cell growth and causes hyperactivity.

Here's the real kicker: If you live in Europe or the US, it is highly likely that you have BPA in your system, since 90 per cent of Europeans and Americans have detectable amounts.

So far, Denmark is the first EU country to ban the BPA in food and drink containers for children under three, and Canada and three US states have already brought similar bans in to effect. Unfortunately, in the UK, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) insists that there is no evidence BPA is harmful...
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Another member of the 'toxic plastic gang' that's lurking around in your water bottle is dioxin. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) listed dioxin as a human carcinogen which may contribute to the development of breast cancer and is highly poisonous to the cells of our bodies.

In a John Hopkins Hospital information leaflet, 'Cancer News from John Hopkins' they warn people not to freeze plastic bottles with water in them as this releases dioxins from the plastic. The same applies for heating these water bottles. Leaving your water bottle on a car seat in the sun, can heat the plastic significantly enough to release dioxin into the water and ultimately into the cells of your body when you ingest it.

But that's not all, in the US, many bottled waters are simply bottled tap water, which may or may not have received any additional treatment. So you get a hit of fluoride along with BPA's and dioxins! Pepsi's Aquafina and Coca-Cola Co.'s Dasani bottled waters are both made of 'purified' water from public reservoirs, containing contaminants like disinfection by-products (DBPs), nitrate, industrial chemicals, arsenic and bacteria.

Now that's hardly a healthy beverage from a sustainable natural source!

High price for no benefits at all

Then there's the price! You pay on average £1 to £1.60 for a 340ml bottle of water, in the UK. However, when you turn on the tap, the water is free!

When you factor in the harmful chemicals in plastic bottles, the environmental impact of plastic waste and the pollution caused by plastic manufacturing plants, bottled water becomes a losing proposition no matter how you look at it.

In fact, the environmental harm bottled water causes alone should be a deciding factor. The bottled water industry threatens the water supplies of local communities by mining water from underground aquifers and natural springs. These natural sources of water serve nearby streams, wells and farms, but aggressive 'water mining' can easily dry them out... and once water is gone, life ends!

Is all of this really worth £1?

Filtering is better

Even though tap water is much more regulated than bottled water, it's still contaminated with fluoride (a toxic chemical that causes dental decay among other things) and disinfection by-products (DBPs) that also harm our health. But there is a way around this...

The best solution (for your health, the environment and the sustainability of our planet) is to install a home water filtration system. It may seem like an extravagant expense but if you consider how much you spend on bottled water, you'll realise that in the long run you'll be saving a lot of money whilst protecting your health and the environment.

Look for a home water filtration system that has three separate stages of contamination removal:

    * Stage one removes sediment.
    * Stage two removes chlorine and heavy metals.
    * Stage three should be a heavy-duty carbon filter for removing hormones, drug residues, chemicals, pesticides, and herbicides.
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Sources:

Study links dioxin to breast cancer around Midland, by Eartha Jane Melzer, published online 21.10.08

CANCER UPDATE FROM JOHN HOPKINS HOSPITAL, published online, community.breastcancer.org

Infertility causes due to BPA, published online, myfertileground.com

'Gender bending' chemical in food tins may cut male fertility, published online 05.08.10, dailymail.co.uk

How Most Americans Were Conned Into Drinking Bottled Water, published online, 05.07.2008, articles/mercola.com

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Comments

max Posted 01/10/2011

water is never free... in the US, the retail cost to the consumer is highly subsidized, and who pays for the transportation and filtration prior to delivery to that tap! - we all do!

Roger Charlesworth Posted 02/10/2011

I thank you for the information. I am in China. I have around a dozen used water bottles in my home from several sources. All except two were Type 1. The other two were Type 5, but all were PP. So your statement : "In most cases, bottled water is packaged in plastic. The fact is that these plastic containers harbour a toxic chemical called Bisphenol A or BPA (a synthetic oestrogen), used to harden plastics. BPA is one of the world's most widely manufactured chemicals, with more than 2.2 million tons made each year." seems to be factually incorrect. The only problem I found is my bulk water container in which they deliver my drinking water. This Type 7 PC. So I am safer buying small bottles than my bulk supply! I suggest you advise people to look at the bottom of the bottle. Do thye NOT recycle in the USA?

Mik Fielding Posted 02/10/2011

Whilst I do agree with some elements of this article, I really must correct you regarding the BPA issue. Bottled water in UK is supplied in bottles made from Polyethylene terephthalate, known as PETE or PET. This does NOT contain or leach BPA. There many bottles that are sold drinking purposes that do, such as those sold for cyclists and sport use, but not the ones that are sold with water in them. Outside of the larger towns and cities in the UK, tap water, once filtered to remove the chlorine and metal residues is certainly fine to drink. Within the larger towns and cities though there are many contaminants that cannot properly be filtered, including hormones, antibiotics and drug residues. The water has also a dead and lifeless property. To maintain optimum health there is not much choice but to drink bottled spring water. Buying this in 5 litre bottles is the best option. The biggest fault here is the lack of recycling. I don't believe there is much of a problem with depleting water supplies as you suggest certainly with UK sourced water as most spring water comes from fairly rainy areas, especially Welsh and Scottish sourced water where there is very little likelihood of depletion.

Dry Mouth Posted 03/10/2011

Is it just me or is everyone here (Max, Roger and Mike) missing the point? Yes, some (and I mean the minority) of plastic bottles are safer than others. Yet, the production of plastic (any form of plastic) comes at a tremendous cost to the environment! There’s no argument against that!!!! Water is essentially free and the ‘water tax’ you are paying, is for the services rendered to deliver that water to your homes! (That’s another story for another day — but perhaps worthwhile to mention that ‘water tax’ is just another clever way of governments to tap money from all of us.) If we paid for the actual water there would’ve been a flat rate to pay... yet, it is up to your individual council how much it wants to charge for their services (at least that’s why water rates vary so much in the UK!). BPA is still prevalent in many of the plastic containers — for what other reasons was it recently banned in some countries in Europe. The answer: Because it is there! In fact, it is indeed one of the most widely manufactured chemicals in the word, Roger. Check out: http://www.chemsec.org/endocrine-disrupters/found-in-consumer-products/bisphenol-a. Just because it’s not in your water container does not make that statement factually incorrect. Just putting it out there. The topic of water is a tricky one, and a conundrum that will be very difficult to solve... sadly it’s a problem we’ve created ourselves. Yes, our choices are limited... but at least we still have choices! This article is well written and makes an excellent argument. One we should all consider!

Amy Posted 03/10/2011

I got really scared after reading this article. It sounds like disaster to me! I’m not sure about all the facts, but things can’t be this bad. I get that there’s an environmental impact, but surely we must get our water from somewhere? Must we now collect our own water from the rivers and lakes and filter it at home? That will just be a mess and probably deplete the water sources we have anyway?

Emile Posted 03/10/2011

This is just crazy! We've just had one of the hottest weekends in the UK (I know it's October!), what are people suppose to drink in such heat? Must we all queu at the watre fountain and risk heat stroke or dehydration? This planet already is so damaged by the population, that not drinking bottled water will hardly make any difference. We're all doomed anyway. Might as well end it sooner rather than later.



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