Think Drinking Water Stations Are A Safe Bet?
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You can find drinking water stations in just about any office in America, and even in some homes. This seemingly safe alternative to tap water may not be giving you exactly what you think that it is. Your big plastic jug just may contain contaminated drinking water.Â
The problem with purchasing containers of purified water for drinking water stations is that you never really know what methods were used in its purification. Federal regulations allow for certain safe levels of contaminants such as THMs, chlorine, and benzene in the bottling industry. Your drinking water station falls under these same guidelines.
Aside from a few exceptions all bottled water begins its life as ordinary tap water. Due to the number of contaminants that tap water contains, some sort of purification method is advised. Unfortunately, manufacturers of bottled water tend to focus more on taste than on purity.
The FDA allows bottlers to remain immune to many of the regulations that the water treatment facilities are required to follow. This freedom allows bottlers to rush through the process in order to get their product shipped as soon as possible. The cutting of corners like this is what has and will lead to contaminated drinking water.
Say a company does abide by the rules by striving to reach a set level of superior purity. What you’re probably going to have in those drinking water stations is contaminated drinking water anyway. Why? The reason is that most of the bottled water sits in ware houses prior to shipping, sometimes for up to a year.
The reason that this storage is a problem is due to the fact that during the time that the h20 is sitting it is absorbing compounds from the plastic of the bottle. BPA and phthalates are chemicals used in the production of polymers. These products will have estrogen like effects on the body.
What this means is that this contaminated drinking water could be inflicting you with mood changes, permanent changes in breast tissue, and changes in prostate cells. There has been controversy over the use of plastic, polycarbonate, and PVC in drinking water stations. There is also the possibility of more sinister chemicals lurking within.
Benzene is a compound also utilized in the production of polymers. It is also used to make rubber, dyes, and solvents. Benzene contaminated drinking water has been found all around the globe, most famously discovered in bottles of Perrier. Benzene is a known carcinogen.
Chlorine and THM’s have also been linked to various forms of cancer, most notably breast cancer. Depending on the degree to which your water was filtered, you may have both of these chemicals present in your bottled water. Buy a chlorine test kit and test the drinking water stations at your office. You might be surprised at what you find.
The best way to prevent you from consuming contaminated drinking water would be to install a water purifier somewhere on the premises. This would give you the peace of mind to know that every cup of water that you have is pure, fresh, and clean. Install the purifier, and make those unsafe drinking water stations a thing of the past.
Michael S. Logan, MS, is the owner of Logan Family Counseling, Inc. in Rockford, Illinois. I am a frazzled, late life daddy, a business owner, and a budding web entrepreneur. Can you imagine running a business from your laptop, swaying gently in the hammock? The water is coo and icy and tasty and filtered one more time. http://www.super-clean-water.com
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2 Responses to “Think Drinking Water Stations Are A Safe Bet?”
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The dinking water problem being experienced in our office is an example. We have a “filtered water club†where we pay as low as $8/year. We have a leased filter in the kitchen available to club members only.
The more people signed up, the lower the share of the cost. Right now it’s about 15. Imagine the cost if whole office of about 200 signed up.
Some are content with the tap water, and the unfiltered water fountain, which is okay. But some will buy bottled water EVERYDAY and leave them in the fridge.
For a long time I was content with the water fountain. In the summer, the water fountain smells bad, really bad. My share of the lease is $10 this year for the whole year, say 200 days I will be in the office.
Oops! Forgot I need a vacation too.
But the bottom line is, bottled water is not the answer to resolving drinking water problems. I agree with this article about the health effects of plastic bottled water. Most of the bottled water is repackaged municipally treated water.
If your water station is unsafe, try a water purifier as recommended in this article.
The next generation drinking water station marks a significant improvement in water purity. The bottleless reverse osmosis water cooler processes tap water through nine stages of filtration; eliminating virtually all the contaminants in the water. The system does its job at the point of use and stores the pure water in stainless steel reservoirs. This is a drinking water station you can trust.