The Harmful Effects Of Bottled Water

NAME: Zain Choudhary DATE: April 17, 2017 455: Response #4: Partnership and Ethical Challenges In the article “What Went Wrong in Flint” by Anna Maria, she talks about a major public health issue, where the tap drinking water was contaminated with high levels of lead all over the city affecting everyone in the area. She tells a story, where families noticed that throughout the months of drinking tap water, they have noticed many negative physical changes to their body. People started to have stomach problems, losing their hair and developing rashes throughout the city.

Bottled water is very common to use, but yet not the best choice. In the article, “The Wrong Way to Think about California Water” by Michael Hiltzik, he explains why to avoid bottled water. I think it would be difficult to avoid bottled water because he said that the entire nation consumes more than 10 billion gallons of bottled water a year. Then an expert, included in the article, said that bottle water is incredibly expensive. On the other hand, I think if you use tap water then you’ll have to pay a water bill which is quite expensive too.

Secondly, many individuals are susceptible to getting cancer due to their genetics. According to Document H, “Researchers found that some women have a genetic predisposition to use the pathway that creates the bad metabolite (16-alpha-hydroxyestrone). These women have a greatly increased risk for breast cancer. ” If a cell in the reproductive system becomes mutated, the mutation could possibly pass to the next generation.

Additionally, bottled water is appealing and convenient to the active American lifestyle. Bottled water advertising is persuading Americans that their water is purer and contains healthy elements such as calcium and electrolytes. However, tap water is actually healthier and safer, since it is more strictly regulated under EPA standards. Hyper-individualism also contributed to the rise in water bottle reliance. Hyper-individualism is a movement towards individual choices over socialization, or a common good that leads to increasing social alienation.

From 10 bottled water brands tested by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) found “38 pollutants in total, which ran from disinfection products, arsenic, fertilizer residue, plasticizers and pharmaceuticals” (“New Study” 3). “New Study” mentions the government’s requirement on water utilities to notify of any pollutants in the water, which manufacturers of bottled water are not required to do at all. If consumers do not have any idea what’s in their water, then they cannot trust that water like they can tap water. Bottled water has multiple unseen risks associated with just drinking it. These three articles bring up multiple issues created by the mass popularity of bottled water.

These cause a range of harmful effects in people, from more mild symptoms like rashes or nausea, to very severe ones such as liver damage, central nervous system issues and even

Not only is bottled water extremely regulated, but it is also a viable source of hydration for individuals in times of need; therefore one like myself once again disagree with Annie Leonard’s position against bottled water with evidence provided by IBWA. In the article, “Bottled Water Matters,” IBWA had shown the viability of bottled water through their statement, “ Bottled water companies respond with efficiency and speed with regard to provide bottled water in coordination with emergency relief operations.” This statement clearly demonstrates how bottled water can be very essential and lifesaving in times of need. For example, in a disaster like an earthquake, buildings, including tap faucets, would be demolish by the forces of nature.

Some of these ingredients have been identified as causative agents of cancer, and birth

( this is an analysis that is done by a Toxicologist).

These facts introduce and support the message that Standage is delivering. Standage continues with many statistics: “Admittedly, both kinds of water suffer from occasional contamination problems but tap water is more stringently monitored and tightly regulated than bottled water. New york city tap water, for example, was tested 430,600 times during 2004 alone.” He stated. Even though he admits that both of each kind contains chemicals-which at the same time Standage claims that the tap water is more sanitized-but also he points out that it is not the taste that differs between the two

I have seen instances where some of my colleagues have become sick from drinking tap water around the city. No matter where it is such as at their schools such as Pensacola State College or the University of West Florida, at their homes, or in public spots such as restaurants people have noticed that the water is extremely unsanitary. A quote from the DailyFinance article portrays this exactly “Of the 101 chemicals tested for over five years, 45 were discovered. Of them, 21 were discovered in unhealthy amounts. The worst of these were radium-228 and -228, trichloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene, alpha particles, benzine and lead.

Even at the age of 12 kids can get addicted to these harmful chemicals and ruin their

“Nicotine has known damaging effects: It’s addictive, toxic to developing fetuses and can harm brain development in children and young adults up to the age of 20” (Spector). This shows that when students introduce nicotine into their bodies at such a young age they can cause irreversible damage to their bodies that will hold them back from living a completely healthy life. “Propylene glycol, a chemical found in e-liquids, can irritate the eyes and airways... Early studies have also revealed that when propylene glycol or glycerin are heated and vaporized, they can degrade into formaldehyde and acetaldehyde... Both of these

This means that 25 to 40 percent of the bottled water is not any different from the tap water only that it has been exposed to or has a high concentration of the chemicals used to manufacture the packaging plastics. Due to the pathetically primitive regulation of the bottled water, the manufacturers are not keen to inform the consumers of the contaminants that are present in their water. According to Warburton (1993), consumers are likely to drink bottled water containing contaminants such as E.coli, asbestos, giardia, bromate and many other industrial chemicals and pathogens. Arnold & Larsen (2006) indicate that ten water brands in the US had thirty-eight

The Environmental Working Group found acetaminophen, caffeine, arsenic, and nitrate in 10 brands of bottled water." ("Is Bottled Water Better?" 1) Is it not a little scary to know that even if the water your drinking has a trace of danger, you may or may not be warned? It is also scary to think that mothers tend to use bottled water to mix with baby formula and that some of the brands they use actually could contain products that are potentially dangerous to their