The Health Risk Associated with a Missing Ingredient in Bottled Water E

The Health Risk Associated with a Missing Ingredient in Bottled Water Nothing in education is so astonishing as the amount of ignorance it accumulates in the form of inert facts. * Henry Adams "We can’t change the bottled water industry, but we can change our own ignorance." –Paul W. Mason You may think that drinking bottled water is healthier than drinking tap water. However, according to a recent Dateline NBC top story on the quality of bottled water, this healthy move is not so healthy after all. Recently, a bottled water company in California was found to be bottling its brand of Yosemite water from a well in Fullerton, right below the LA freeway system (Verhovek 2). While this is happening the American public remains unaware of the dangers of their "healthy" bottled water. This shouldn’t be happening, but due to lax Food and Drug Administration standards and our own ignorance, bottled water sales are up to an amazing sales of 4 billion dollars a year and our health risks are growing at an even faster rate! To further investigate this situation, we must understand the problems we face so that we can analyze the causes, in an attempt to solve for less than healthy water. In order to see the harm that bottled water has on the public, we need to define the problems with bottled water and investigate it’s impending health risks. To do this, we must clarify what defines bottled water. According to the International Bottled Water Association, "Water is classified as ‘bottled water’ or ‘drinking water’ if it meets all applicable federal and state standards, is sealed in a sanitary container and is sold for human consumption" (FAQ’s 1). Bottled water also cannot contain sweeteners or chemical additives and it... ...er." Current Research in Magnesium. John Libbey & Company Ltd.: London, 1996. Mason, Paul. "Calculations of deaths caused by magnesium-deficient bottled water in California." 17 June 1994. <http://www.execpc.com/~magnesium/bottled.html.> (29 September 1998) ---. "Citizens Petition For Mg Fortification." The Magnesium Website. 30 September 1995. <http://www.execpc.com/~magnesium.> (6 September 1998) ---. "Evaluate Your Bottled Water." 8 July 1997. <http://www.execpc.com/~cc/ccwaters.html> (8 September 1998) "Newsletter of the Healthy Bottled Water Association." <Healthy Water Association> (1 June 1997): 1-5 United States. District Court. Case No. C-97-20686 JF. 15 September 1998. Verhovek, Sam Howe. "It’s Wet. It’s Bottled. It Sort of Tastes Like Water." The New York Times Online. 1998. <http://search.nytimes.com> (8 September 1998)