Bottled Water Safety Concerns, Essay Example

Introduction

The world has seen a proliferation of drinking water supplied in glass and plastic bottles on a global basis. This change is a result of people making a  move towards drinking more healthy water and lessening the risk of disease. This does  come at a price with the variable qualities of water provided and the risk to the environment,  particularly in non-destructive plastic waste.  Hence the problem is as social one relative to quality of water for consumption and dealing with environment hazards as a result of non bio-degradeable waste.

Solutions to the Problem

Plastic bottles are relatively inexpensive to produce as a commodity and are seen as a viable material for keeping bottle water refrigerated.  Regrettably, the environment conditions of waste disposal have gone largely ignored.  This has had a profound impact, particularly in third world and poorer countries where no recycling schemes are in place.  The growth in plastic bottled water sales has increased dramatically: 3.3 billion in 1997 to 15 billion in 2002. (Llanos, 2011)

A firm in Colorado called Biota is pointing the way towards resolution of the plastic bottle problem.  They propose a solution of a bottle manufactured out of corn starch that becomes a bio-degradable product that breaks down in just under 80 days.  This contrasted to the conventional plastic bottle in a landfill that can take in excess of 1,000 years to degrade.  This seems a practical common sense approach towards dealing with the problem on a large scale. The alternate option of collecting the bottles for recycling and shipping to reprocessing plants in China is not really a very practical one. (Llanos, 2011).

There is a high reliability factor of bottled water, in terms of overall sampling and testing.  There have been cases where some manufacturers have dubious quality records.  The Natural Resource Defence Council conducted a test and found that of all the water samples tested, from a diverse product range – “About 22 percent of the brands we tested contained, in at least one sample, chemical contaminants at levels above strict state health limits”  (NDRC, 2012). It was considered that those drinking such water over prolonged periods would be at higher risk of diseases like Cancer.   There is also an added danger of leakage of certain chemicals from the plastic into the water and further studies are still taking place in this area –“chemicals called phthalates, which are known to disrupt testosterone and other hormones, can leach into bottled water over time.” (NDRC, 2012).

Problem Analysis

A survey carried out in 2006 stated that the equivalent of 2 billion half litre bottles of water was shipped into US ports.  This being a major contributor to global warming and climate change. It was estimated that the bottled water imported from Europe to New York  equated to 3,800 tons of CO2 emissions. Similarly water shipped in from  Fiji equated to 2,500 tons of Co2 emission. (NDRC, 2012).  Another interesting research point is that some 25% of bottled water originated from pure tap water and does not contain the mineral advantages or purity factors that consumers believe they are deriving from bottled mineral water products.  In fact consumers need to careful read the small print in terms of the origin of the water and the constituents of that water.  A case of becoming more educated on the product that is being consumed.

Fiji water claim that there water is not touched by man and is drawn up from the Fiji water aquifer system by a plant that sits on the surface – “the facility was built directly on top of the FIJI Water aquifer, where a completely sealed delivery system draws the water up from the protected chamber and places it directly into our iconic square bottles” (Fiji Water, 2011). This water is artesian water  that is drawn up directly from the  ground and contains quality mineral contents.  The water system is not near any industrial plants or any other form of contaminants and as such is considered a source of pure quality water.

Another issue with bottled water is the migration of toxins from the plastic extrusion plants into the plastic that forms the compound.  Equally the cleaning apparatus of the bottling plants. Although every effort is made by the manufacturers to minimise the risk we are dealing with a number of serious toxic substances called ‘Antimony trioxide’ and ‘acetaldehyde’  both of which are cacogenic.  Hence source and reputation of the bottled water should be of paramount importance to the consumer. (antioxidants-health-benefits.com , 2011)

One of the high end spring mineral waters derived from the mountainous areas of France is that of  Saint-Geron.  The mineral water is a 5 star rating for water quality and healthy mineral content.   The water is derived from an ancient mineral spring that has been pressed through a thousand year journey of rock formation to produce a natural spring water of exceptional quality and taste.  (finewaters.com, 2011).

Perhaps the most remarkable pure water comes from Canada and the Arctic area where they actually use icebergs in order to produce a unique high quality mineral water called glace. This is particularly impressive but perhaps  aimed at the most discerning table water for fine dining restaurants.

Conclusions

Considering the environmental solutions the most favoured solution is that put forward  by the Colorado firm of Biota.  This represents a simple solution tom a large-scale problem. By addressing the properties of the bottles it means that a bio-degradable bottle can be collected and placed into landfill sites where it will decompose in an 80 day period.  This seems far more practical than other solution of collection and shipping to recycling plants.  Human beings are lazy by nature and relatively  non-conformist when it comes to waste programs.  By removing non-biodegradable products out of the production cycle we are both protecting the environment and saving toxic non-bio gradable products being dumped into landfills and otherwise littering places up.  India being a classic example of where this waste material has become strewn all over the Cities and surrounding land.

In addition, it is also important to raise consumer education on the quality of mineral water being used. Considering 25% derives from tap water this is almost a direct misrepresentation of the less informed consumers who believe they are getting spa quality water for the protection and benefit of their health.  In this sense consumers need to be better informed on the quality of the mineral waters that they consume and this means reading the small print in order to determine the origin of the product and the elements contained therein. The problem can be difficult to determine if the plastic containers contain any contaminants, normally picked up from the plastic extrusion process or cleaning machines.  Perhaps the best barometer is that of price. An expensive product is far more likely to have the quality control measures associated with it than say a lesser quality product from a poorer country.

Works Cited

antioxidants-health-benefits.com . (2011, 12 8). Problems with bottled water. Retrieved from .antioxidants-health-benefits.com : http://www.antioxidants-health-benefits.com/problems-with-bottled-water.html

Fiji Water. (2011, 12 8). Fiji Water. Retrieved from Fiji Water: http://www.fijiwater.com/water/untouched-by-man/

finewaters.com. (2011, 11 8). Finest bottled waters of the world. Retrieved from finewaters.com: http://www.finewaters.com/Bottled_Water/France/Saint-Geron.asp

Llanos, M. (2011, 12 8). Plastic bottles pile up as mountains of waste. Retrieved from MSN environment: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5279230/ns/us_news-environment/t/plastic-bottles-pile-mountains-waste/

NDRC. (2012, 11 8). Bottled Water. Retrieved from NDRC: http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/qbw.asp