The Environmental and Health Hazards of Bottled Water

The Environmental and Health Hazards of Bottled Water A Presentation for Neumann Association By Ken Vick MPH Student Walden University PUBH 6165-3 Dr Raymond Thron Spring 2009

In this Presentation You will: • Understand the ecological effect that discarded plastic bottles have on the environment • Understand the possible health consequences of reusing plastic bottles • Understand the economic considerations of using bottled water • Understand the environmental benefits of reducing plastic bottle use

Why Cut down on Using Bottled Water? • The Natural Resources Defense Council • The Sierra Club • World Wildlife Fund Have all urged their supporters to consume less bottled water due to the environmental impact of plastic bottles

Bottled Water is the Second Most Consumed Beverage in the U.S. Today After Soft Drinks • In 2007 U.S. consumption reached 8.8 billion gallons or 29 gallons per person • The U.S is the largest consumer market for bottled water in the world • Many people cite the convenience, taste, and safety of bottled water as reasons for increasing their consumption but few have considered the environmental and health impact that bottled water could have • *Statistics taken from Banerjee (2008)

About 25% of the U.S. bottled water is actually purified municipal water (tap water) • Both Aquafina (PepsiCo) and Dasani (Coca-Cola) originate from municipal water systems • About 75% of bottled water does come from other sources including underground water systems, rivers, lakes, springs, and artesian wells but their purity can be disputed according to the NRDC *From the NRDC

Primary Concern is the Environmental Impact of Plastic • In the U.S. alone about 1.5 million barrels of oil are consumed in making the bottles • Most bottles end up in landfills (80%) • The plastic making process releases toxins such as nickel, ethylbenzene, ethylene oxide, and benzene into the environment • World-wide, 2.7 million tons of plastic is made for the bottled water industry every year • It is projected to take 1000 years for a plastic bottle to biodegrade in a landfill • While buried in a landfill it may leak toxic additives into groundwater *From NRDC

Regulation is Minimal • In the U.S. bottled water is regulated by the FDA but according to the NRDC: • Exact sources are often difficult to ascertain from the label • Allowable amounts of contaminants are not published • Some harsh chemicals are used in the cleaning of filtration equipment by many companies • In 1999 a Natural Resources Defense Council study reported that the purity of some bottled water can be disputed *From http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/bw/exesum.asp

1999 Study by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) This report states that there are major gaps in bottled water regulation • Bottled water is not necessarily safer than tap water • Some bottled water contained bacterial contaminants • Several brands contained synthetic organic chemicals (solvents, chemicals from plastics, & trihalomethanes) • Some contained inorganic contaminants such as arsenic • Filtration equipment is often cleaned with propylalcohol which is highly toxic and cannot be completely filtered out of water

Concerns around Shipping and Storage • Bottled water often gets heated during shipping or storage which may cause chemicals to leach from the plastic container into the water • Most bottled water is shipped from other parts of the country and may contain herbicides, pesticides, lead, and PCBs • Bottled water should not be directly exposed to sunlight due to the possible break down of the plastic *From http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/bw/exesum.asp

Plastics Also Pollute the Oceans Plastics travel through sewer systems and end up in oceans where they break up into smaller and lighter particles which kill more than 1 million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals every year *Moeller (2005)

Reusing Plastic Bottles can Pose a health Hazard • Risk of bacterial infection if the interior is not washed with warm soapy water and completely dried in between uses • Possibility of chemicals leaching from the bottle into the water • Clear Nalgene water bottles shown to contain trace amounts of BPA • A plastic bottle should only be reused a few times (if at all) *From Bottled Water Basics (retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/safewater/faq/pdfs

Economic Considerations • Bottled water is 240 to 10,000 times more expensive than tap water • Far more cost effective to invest in an effective water filtering system for home and office along with reusable glasses and cups • Saving on the cost associated with the production, storage, and transportation of water products *From http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/bw/exesum.asp

Quality Water Filtration Systems Are Available which are cost-effective • Numerous quality home and office water filtration systems are available for a fraction of the cost of purchasing bottled water (including distilled water, tap filters, pitcher filters, ozonated water, etc.)

Stop Using Bottled Water for 21 Days Invitation to participate in this national program through: • Refraining from using all bottled water • Invest in a proven water filtration system for home and office along with getting re-washable glass cups • Register at www.nobottled water21days.com

The Environmental and Health Hazards of Bottled Water