Myth: Bottled water is better
I have a thing against bottled water, when tap water is readily available. I think it’s a waste of money, harmful to the environment and inconvenient. (Is it easier to lug home a case of bottled water from the supermarket or turn on your tap?)
In case you missed a recent report, tests on leading brands of bottled water turned up a variety of contaminants often found in tap water. The findings challenge the popular impression — and marketing pitch — that bottled water is purer than tap water, the researchers say.
While all brands met federal health standards for drinking water, two violated a California state standard, the study said.
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.
The Washington-based Environmental Working Group, an organization founded by scientists that advocates stricter regulation, did the two-year study. It found the contaminants in bottled water purchased in nine states and Washington, D.C.
Researchers recommend that people worried about water contaminants drink filtered tap water.
