http://www.cbc.ca/news/plastic-bottles-leach-chemicals-into-water-study-1.605134
Through stoichiometric
calculations, we are able to determine the number of moles, mass, concentration
and volume of an unknown product or reactant in a chemical reactions. Knowing
how much of a substance is present within another substance is essential for
industrial safety, workplace safety, and in the case of consumer products, our
own personal safety.
It has recently been discovered
that the water in plastic water bottles contains a higher concentration of
Antimony (a chemical similar to lead) the longer they sit in the bottle. Even though
the water bottles have a safe initial antimony concentration of 160 parts per
trillion after six months of sitting in the plastic that concentration doubles.
This level still meets the Health Canada standards for drinking water, and
advocates for bottled water companies’ state that there is no adverse affect on
human health.
Still, these findings have important implications for overseas shipping. New regulations may need to be installed for the testing of bottled water for periods of time longer than 6 months, such as intercontinental transport. Antimony can cause nausea, dizziness, depression and death. Given that 20% of Canadians drink bottled water, more detailed research about the concentration of other chemicals in water over time, the effects of these chemicals on children and the elderly, and the general impact of bottled water on human health may be the next frontier.
This poses an interesting question
about how cautious we need to be about the chemicals we consume. Should we take
the bottled water companies’ and Health Canada’s word for it, or is the
increase in a dangerous chemical in a commonly consumed product worth further
investigation? How much, and what kind of additional research should be done?
If the levels of Antimony are found to be unsafe after sitting for more than
six months, should bottled water companies be found criminally guilty of
malpractice?
1 comment:
Bottled water is popular- there is no doubt about that. And although this high level of Antimony is disconcerting, it takes a whole lot more to cause people to shift from convenience and “better taste” and for corporations to give up the large profits it sends their way. We should not take health Canada’s word for it- I bet there are bribes in it somewhere. If it were feasible to run all sorts of tests on the water, with, or without the company's approval, that is what we should do. We can probably find something deadly in it. People are very set in their ways and it will take a clear link with death or severe health effects to make people change. It took the link with lung cancer to stop smoking from mainstream culture. The alternative options are there. We just need to change.
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