As a thirsty greenie living in Israel, I try to avoid buying bottled water, and instead have recently purchased a very cool stainless steel water bottle – made in the US by Klean Kanteen. But sometimes it’s difficult to avoid buying some water in plastic bottles – although after reading this story, I will think twice.
This report was spotted in this weekend’s Haaretz newspaper (11th July 08):
“‘Mineral Water with a Taste of Gas’: Gasoline fumes penetrate the plastic mineral water bottles sold at gas stations, according to Technion professor Joseph Miltz of the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering.”
“During the summer, when bottles are stored outside, heating increases the permeability of the plastic material to gasoline fumes – especially if they are stored close to pumps,” said Miltz. Dr. Nehemia Sher, head of quality control for the Neviot water company, appeared to agree. According to her, Neviot instructs the gas company to store the packs of water far from the pumps, and not with oil or other volatile materials. As well as the dangers from gas permeating into the water, bottles standing in the hot Middle Eastern sun for periods of time may undergo partial degradation, also releasing harmful chemicals into the water.
Oy! This feels a bit like a ‘damned if we do, damned if we don’t’ scenario. Not only is there a national water shortage, and the aquifers and lakes are low, the expensive bottled stuff is in danger of contamination. Drink in moderation, and with caution this summer, dear readers.
Author: James Murray-White
Growing up in a green village outside Cambridge, UK gave me an eye into the natural world, and years later, after being an actor, dramatist, weary traveller and anthropologist, the environment fires me up the most – and the need to save and nurture it… while we live within it. I now live in the UK, with partner Tania and 2 pesky cats – writing and filming the world (slowly making a documentary about the Bedouin situation) take up my creative time. I do this while growing things organically and composting profusely take up the remainder. James can be reached at james (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
James, thanks for the post. Can’t say it makes things any easier for me and my personal search for decent water to drink in this country that isn’t harmful to me or the environment; however, better to know than remain ignorant and contaminated.