Oct 15/07

By THEA RUTHERFORD, Guardian National Correspondent

thea@nsguard.com

How many times have you refilled your water bottle for? Maybe you've topped up your mini plastic water bottle two or three times for the week. Maybe you've reused the same bottle five or six times in the past two weeks. It's even possible that you may have been drinking out of your handy little bottle for weeks, maybe even months at a time. But have you been washing the bottle out before reuse?

Therein lies your problem.

Recent studies have shown that the reuse of water bottles without proper washing between each use can lead to contamination of the water they contain.

When researchers from the University of Calgary analyzed samples of water they collected from 76 plastic bottles at a Canadian elementary school, they found that one third of the samples contained severe bacterial contamination. "Don't Fill 'er Up," a Health Sciences Institute article written by Jenny Thompson, refers to the study noting, "Some samples even contained fecal coliforms." Cathy Ryan, the lead professor of the study, noted that if fecal coliforms were found in the town water supply, it would have to be shut down.

"These contamination problems are a direct result of reusing water bottles without proper washing between each use. The researchers speculated that the contamination of the elementary school water bottles was likely complicated by insufficient hygiene — specifically a lack of hand washing. Nevertheless, any water bottle reused again and again without washing is subject to contamination with bacteria," the article reads.

But, in some cases, even washing a bottle is not enough. Results from a University of Idaho study showed that toxic chemicals in bottles made from a plastic called polyethylene terephthalate (PET) could break down with the repeated use of the plastic bottles and seep into the liquid they contain. One of the more common toxins to be found in such cases was a carcinogen that has been linked to liver damage and reproductive problems called di(2-ethylhexyl) adipate.

"Furthermore, when bottles were used repeatedly, the concentration of toxins gradually became more pronounced," the article notes. "And ironically, washing the bottles didn't help — in fact it only made matters worse. The UI data suggested that the breakdown of toxins was accelerated by regular exposure to hot water and soap."

Local examples provide ample warning for caution in the reuse of water bottles as well. Dwayne Curtis, the chief public analyst at the Department of Environmental Health Services, warns against filling bottles with water without knowing what such bottles may have previously contained. Called in to investigate illness among students at a primary school a few years ago who had consumed water from a one gallon bottle, the department found traces of detergent in the water after testing.

"Our further investigation revealed that they had obtained the bottle from a cupboard at home, and that the bottle had previously been used by their parents to store detergent," Curtis recalled.

"Not only should we be careful not to use bottles to contain drinking water if we are not absolutely certain that they have not been contaminated, but also we should avoid storing detergents or any poisonous substances in bottles that are normally used for packaging water, and that might subsequently be used as containers for drinking water or other beverages by unsuspecting persons."

The source from which you obtain water is also of utmost importance in assuring that the water you drink is actually good for you. Not all water is equal when drawn from sources that may be contaminated. And drinking contaminated water leaves one susceptible to water-borne illnesses like diarrhea, vomiting, fever, abdominal discomfort and cramps.

While water from your back yard well may seem benign, the absence of purification techniques to ensure the water is safe to drink can lead to water-borne illnesses as well. "It's very important to have a disinfectant procedure," says Charlene Smith, the quality control manager at Aquapure.

Smith also says that it's important to have a water purification process to reduce minerals to an acceptable level. Water that contains too high levels of certain minerals can lead to hypertension, cancer, respiratory and digestive problems, brain damage and even death, particularly in infants, the elderly, and people with compromised immune systems.

If you're going to purify your own water, there are a few things you should know to avoid contaminating your source. Smith warns against putting too much chlorine in water as the chemical contains a by-product called trihalomethane that can lead to colon, rectal and bladder cancer. Water that is treated with chlorine should be stored in a tank to allow the residual chlorine to collect at the bottom. Your water's chlorine content should be no less and no greater than two to three parts per million.

Boiling water in order to purify it can also be problematic. Smith says that while boiling may kill harmful bacteria, it can cause nitrate levels in the water to increase.

To avoid the complications that can come from inadequate purification of water, Smith strongly suggests purchasing bottled water for drinking. Bottled water should then be stored in a dry, cool place and kept away from direct sunlight, chemicals, household disinfectants, solvents, gasoline and paint thinners.

Aquapure general manager Alex Knowles also stresses the importance of knowing where your water comes from. The company is concerned about vendors who fill five gallon water bottles with water from sources that may not have been purified and sell them to the general public.

"They're fooling with people's lives," says Knowles. "You're probably not going to die from it but you can get awfully sick."

At the plant, water that is dredged from a depth of 360 feet undergoes two purification processes before being bottled in sanitized and manufactured bottles and sold to the public. Five gallon bottles are washed in water heated to 140 degrees. U.S. government officials inspect the plant every six months, and the company's water is sent to a lab to be tested in West Palm Beach each year to ensure that it meets the standards of the industry. Bacterial tests are done on the plant's water daily and the water is analyzed each hour.

Knowles says that regulation of the bottled water industry is on its way in the country.

"What we're planning to do is meet — and I've talked with some of the key players in the bottled water industry already — with the government and try to set up some sort of a system where we can ensure that the guy doesn't bottle water from his back door," says Knowles. "That if we find these people bottling water from the back door that we can report them to the various government authority and some action can be taken against them."

Knowles hopes that written standards and procedures for the industry will be established in the next six to nine months.

"We want to make sure that they are following the procedures that's established by the bottled water industry, and hopefully over the next six months to nine months we will be able to come up with some written procedures in conjunction with the government to have a standard for the bottle water industry, where the responsibility on one hand will be the government and the responsibility on the other hand will be us as an industry.

"It's not easy policing yourself but somebody has to do something."

Sources:

The Health Sciences Institute

http://www.hsibaltimore.com/ealerts/ea200302/ea20030213.html

Global Healing Center

http://www.ghchealth.com/people-who-frequently-reuse-their-water-bottles-may-be-risking-their-health.html