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AlterNet: What to make of the latest article warning of scary tap water

Posted by: Maven on January 21, 2010 at 8:02 am

From AlterNet:

“Charles Duhigg’s recent New York Times article, That Tap Water Is Legal but May Be Unhealthy, was certainly scary. It let us know that drinking water systems in the United States are in sorry shape and, with over 60,000 chemicals in our industrial inventory, “…not one chemical has been added to the list of those regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act since 2000.”

I’m lucky to live in a place with very good tap water, but it’s clear from Duhigg’s article that some people have no choice but to drink bottled water. On top of being robbed of clean public water, something Americans generally think of as a right, the expense of bottled water (or water filters), which many people just can’t afford, adds insult to injury.

Still, Duhigg’s article should not generally be read as a reason to buy bottled water. Let’s remember the facts: as outdated as our water regulations may be, in the United States, tap water is far better regulated than bottled water, not to mention that up to 40 percent of the water sold in bottles is tap water that’s simply been packaged – and packaged in containers (those ubiquitous plastic bottles) that are harmful to human and environmental health. To make matters worse, the bottled water industry, which is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), is not required to disclose the results of any contaminant testing it conducts. … “

Read more from AlterNet by clicking here.

January 21, 2010 · Filed Under Drinking Water & Bottled Water

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