Is your bottled water safe for consumption? No, says an expert on water desalination. Bottled water can be hazardous if proper shelf temperature is not maintained because of the salt content in water and the presence of Bisphenol A (BPA) in polycarbonate plastic in water bottles. In the European Union and Canada, BPA use is banned in baby bottles. Bisphenol A interacts with water that leads to a change in the taste and color of water if not properly stored, Mostafa Abu Bakr, an engineer who specializes in desalination of bottled water, told the Saudi Gazette Wednesday. Water usually gets polluted because of humidity, darkness and pressure, he said. “Desalination of a liter of water costs the government the same amount as filtering two liters of oil,” Abu Bakr said. Water refilling stations too are big health hazards because most of them do not maintain proper hygiene standards. A Saudi Gazette survey found that many of the water refilling plants do not change filters periodically and do not properly maintain the plastic pipe water network. Almost all water refilling plants here transport bottled water in open trucks instead of using covered vehicles like the ones used for transporting juices. Many water refilling plants increase salt content to make water tastier, said Abu Bakr. Mohammad Abdul Ghani, a worker at a water refilling station in Jeddah, told the Saudi Gazette that inspectors from Jeddah Mayoralty pay periodic visits to the plants in order to check filters and the pipe network. “Inspectors have even fined us for not changing filters,” he said. At some plants the mayoralty inspectors even found high level of bromine, a highly toxic chemical used in water treatment. Some 50 water refilling stations were shut down in Jeddah alone for violating safety norms, according to a Jeddah Mayoralty report. As per to the most recent official report of the World Health Organization (WHO), every year about two million people die from waterborne diseases and billions more suffer illness. __
