# data[].attributes.headline
"Should Bottled Water Be Banned: Pros and Cons" (MyOwnWater, 2022)

# data[].attributes.subject
"Should Bottled Water Be Banned: Pros and Cons" (MyOwnWater, 2022)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Should Bottled Water Be Banned: Pros and Cons | My Own Water

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We look at the topic’s pros and cons to see whether we should, or shouldn’t, ban bottled water.

# data[].attributes.headline
"Would Banning Plastic Bottles Help or Hurt the Planet?" (KQED, Lartaud, 2019)

# data[].attributes.subject
"Would Banning Plastic Bottles Help or Hurt the Planet?" (KQED, Lartaud, 2019)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Would Banning Plastic Bottles Help or Hurt the Planet? | KQED

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Plastic bottles are EVERYWHERE and are a big source of pollution. But banning them might create another problem for the environment. Here’s why. TEACHERS: Guide your students to practice civil discourse about current topics and get practice writing CER (claim, evidence, reasoning) responses. Explore lesson supports. How did plastic bottles become such a problem Early forms

# data[].attributes.headline
Environmental Impact of Plastic Water Bottles (2011)

# data[].attributes.subject
Environmental Impact of Plastic Water Bottles (2011)

# data[].attributes.headline
"Microplastics in Bottled Water at Least 10 Times Worse Than Once Thought" (Baker, 2024)

# data[].attributes.subject
"Microplastics in Bottled Water at Least 10 Times Worse Than Once Thought" (Baker, 2024)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Pure, natural spring water, just as nature intended. Well, not exactly.

Bottled water has long been marketed as a safer alternative to what comes out of the tap-if it doesn't come straight from a mountain spring, it's at least purified and chemical free. But a new study by scientists at Columbia University and Rutgers University demonstrates that bottled water may be far worse when it comes to microscopic plastic pollutants capable of passing into the bloodstream.

For years scientists have raised the alarm over the global spread of microplastics, which form when plastics break down into increasingly smaller fragments. The particles, which range in size from five millimeters (1/4 of an inch) down to 1 micrometer (1 millionth of a meter, or 1/25,000th of an inch) have been found at the top of Mount Everest and at the bottom of the deepest ocean trenches, with unknown impacts on human and ecosystem health. Previous studies have found that a liter of bottled water can contain tens of thousands of identifiable (at least through a microscope) plastic particles. But those studies stopped at the 1 micrometer threshold, largely because of technological limitations.

This week's study, published Jan. 8 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, uses a newly developed laser technology to find even smaller fragments, upping the number of plastic particles in bottled water by a factor of 10, and in some cases, more than a 100. Using this new technology, which was invented by Columbia biophysicist and study coauthor Wei Min, the authors detected an average 240,000 plastic fragments per liter of bottled water.

More From TIME

Approximately 90% of the particles were considered nanoplastics, which, as the name implies, are smaller than 1 micrometer. Unlike microplastics, nanoplastics are capable of passing through the intestine and lungs into the bloodstream. From there they can lodge in the heart muscle and other organs, pass the blood-brain barrier into the brain, and even into the bodies of unborn infants by crossing the placenta.

Not surprisingly, one of the most common nanoplastic types in the three popular brands of bottled water tested (the scientists did not name the brands) was polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, which is the plastic most commonly used in the bottled drinks industry. Most likely the minute particles abrade into the water when the bottle is squeezed, or when the top is repeatedly screwed on or off. Another common plastic type found in the bottled water samples was nylon. Study co-author Beizhan Yan, a geochemistry research professor at Columbia's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO), suggests that such particles may in fact come from filters designed to purify the water.
Read More: There's Almost No Research on the Health Impact of Plastic Chemicals in the Global South
So far, there is little research that shows what, exactly, nanoplastics do once they enter the bloodstream. But there is copious evidence that chemicals used in plastic production are deleterious for human health and mammalian reproduction. Even if the nanoplastics themselves are not harmful, they can serve as carriers for dangerous chemicals used in plastic production, such as bisphenols, phthalates, dioxins, organic contaminants, and heavy metals that are harmful in high doses, increasing the risk of cancer and impacting key organs such as the kidneys, the liver, the heart, reproduction and the nervous system. They can also accumulate through the food chain.

"There is a huge world of nanoplastics to be studied," says Min. Even if nanoplastics make up 90% of the number of plastic particles found in bottled water, they make up far less in mass, he says. In this case that fact provides little comfort: "It's not size that matters. It's the numbers, because the smaller things are, the more easily they can get inside us."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Microplastics in Bottled Water At Least 10 Times Worse Than Once Thought

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
New research reveals that a liter of bottled water contains an average 240,000 microscopic plastic particles. The health impact is unclear.

# data[].attributes.headline
"Trash Talk: Why is plastic marine debris so common?" (The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

# data[].attributes.subject
"Trash Talk: Why is plastic marine debris so common?" (The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

# data[].attributes.body
https://oceantoday.noaa.gov/trashtalk_plastics/

# data[].attributes.headline
"Environmental Impact of Plastic Water Bottles" (McKinley)

# data[].attributes.subject
"Environmental Impact of Plastic Water Bottles" (McKinley)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
"Environmental Impact of Plastic Water Bottles"

# data[].attributes.headline
"If you drop plastic in the ocean, where does it end up?" (Evans, 2017)

# data[].attributes.subject
"If you drop plastic in the ocean, where does it end up?" (Evans, 2017)

# data[].attributes.body
https://newsela.com/read/elem-plastic-in-oceans/id/32393/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Newsela | Instructional Content Platform

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Newsela is an Instructional Content Platform that supercharges reading engagement and learning in every subject.

# data[].attributes.headline
"Top 6 Myths About Bottled Water" (Hochman, 2007)

# data[].attributes.subject
"Top 6 Myths About Bottled Water" (Hochman, 2007)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
MYTH #1:

BOTTLED WATER IS BETTER THAN TAP.

Not necessarily. While labels gush about bottled water that "begins as snowflakes" or flows from "deep inside lush green volcanoes," between 25 and 40 percent of bottled water comes from a less exotic source: U.S. municipal water supplies. ( Bottling companies buy the water and filter it, and some add minerals.) That's not really a bad thing: The Environmental Protection Agency oversees municipal water quality, while the Food and Drug Administration monitors bottled water; in some cases, EPA codes are more stringent.

MYTH #2:

PURIFIED WATER TASTES BETTER.

The "purest" water - distilled water with all minerals and salts removed - tastes flat; it's the sodium, calcium, magnesium, and chlorides that give water its flavor. The "off" taste of tap water is the chlorine; if you refrigerate it in a container with a loose-fitting lid, the chlorine taste will be gone overnight.

MYTH #3:

BOTTLED WATER WITH VITAMINS, MINERALS, OR PROTEIN IS MORE HEALTHY THAN REGULAR WATER.

" Vitamins, color, herbs, protein, and all the other additions to water - those are a marketing ploy," says Marion Nestle, Ph.D., professor of nutrition studies at New York University. Plus, the additives are usually a scant serving of the vitamins you really need in a day, adds Amy Subar, Ph.D., a nutritionist with the National Cancer Institute. Enhanced waters usually contain sugars and artificial flavorings to sweeten the deal and can pack more calories than diet soda. When it comes to providing fluoride, tap water usually wins, though that element is increasingly being added to bottled waters.

MYTH #4:

YOU NEED EIGHT 8-OUNCE GLASSES OF WATER EACH DAY.

The Institute of Medicine recommends about 91 ounces (a little more than 11 8-ounce glasses) of fluid daily for women. But here's the thing: It expects 80 percent of that to come from water, juice, coffee, tea, or other beverages and the remaining 20 percent from food. That means if you drink a 12-ounce cup of coffee and a 12-ounce can of diet soda, you only need 48 more ounces (three 16-ounce glasses, or four soda cans' worth) for the day.

MYTH #5:

AFTER AN INTENSE WORKOUT, BOTTLED WATER IS BEST.

There's a reason volunteers hand out Gatorade during marathons. If your workout lasts longer than an hour, you need to replace the water and electrolytes, such as sodium and potassium, that you've lost (that's what sports drinks generally do). For less intense workouts, regular water is fine.

MYTH #6:

WATER BOTTLES AREEASY ON THE ENVIRONMENT BECAUSE THEY CAN BE RECYCLED.

Wouldn't it be nice? And it's not just the bottles. Eco-costs include manufacturing, trucking, shelving, and marketing. And meeting the annual U.S. demand for plastic bottles requires enough oil to keep 100,000 cars on the road for a year, says Janet Larsen of the Earth Policy Institute. Sure, the 70 million empty water bottles the U.S. produces per day can be recycled, but the sad truth is, about 86 percent of them end up in the trash. Hardly worth it, for what flows out of the tap and into a reusable glass for free.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
MYTH #1: BOTTLED WATER IS BETTER THAN TAP. Not necessarily. While labels gush about bottled water that "begins as snowflakes" or flows from "deep inside lush green volcanoes," between 25 and 40 percent of bottled water comes from a less exotic source: U.S. municipal water supplies.

# data[].attributes.headline
"Plastics found in stomachs of deepest sea creatures" (Taylor, 2017)

# data[].attributes.subject
"Plastics found in stomachs of deepest sea creatures" (Taylor, 2017)

# data[].attributes.body
https://newsela.com/read/elem-plastics-reach-deep-sea/id/37843/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Newsela | Instructional Content Platform

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Newsela is an Instructional Content Platform that supercharges reading engagement and learning in every subject.

# data[].attributes.headline
"Opinion: Turn on the taps! Bottled water industry is bad for the Earth" (Project Syndicate, 2015)

# data[].attributes.subject
"Opinion: Turn on the taps! Bottled water industry is bad for the Earth" (Project Syndicate, 2015)

# data[].attributes.body
https://newsela.com/read/projectsyndicate-bottledwater/id/12645/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Newsela | Opinion: Turn on the taps! Bottled water industry is bad for the Earth

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Bottled water is a big business that depletes aquifers, harms ecosystems and adds to the garbage disposal problem. Plus, tests show bottled water is no healthier than tap water.

# data[].attributes.headline
"Bottled Water Industry Provides Assistance to Haitian Relief Efforts" (IBWA, 2010)

# data[].attributes.subject
"Bottled Water Industry Provides Assistance to Haitian Relief Efforts" (IBWA, 2010)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
BOTTLED WATER INDUSTRY PROVIDES ASSISTANCE TO HAITIAN RELIEF EFFORTS
Statement of IBWA President Joseph K. Doss:
"The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) and the bottled water industry have been working to provide bottled water to the victims of the earthquake in Haiti. Since we first learned the news of this disaster, IBWA and the bottled water industry have produced, coordinated and distributed critical bottled water supplies through relief agencies and organizations such as 'Clean the World', 'Convoy of Hope,' 'American Red Cross' and 'AmeriCares' and other state and local charities.

A key facet of IBWA involvement has been to provide bottled water companies with specific information regarding staging areas where bottled water shipments may be dropped, as well as other contact information for relief organizations that are seeking bottled water and other contributions.

The bottled water industry has always been at the forefront of relief efforts during natural disasters and other catastrophic events. Throughout the years, bottled water companies have immediately responded to the need for clean water after natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina, the earthquakes and wildfires in the West, or the terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center. More recently, our companies provided bottled water to those in need in the aftermath of the 2009 spring flooding in the Midwest."

###

Contact:
TOM LAURIA703-647-4609 office / 703-887-4056 cellphone
Emergency Relief contacts:
Clean the World ( http://www.cleantheworld.org)

Convoy of Hope ( http://www.convoyofhope.com)

American Red Cross ( http://www.redcross.org)

AmeriCARES ( http://www.americares.org)
The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) is the authoritative source of information about all types of bottled waters, including spring, mineral, purified, artesian, and sparkling. Founded in 1958, IBWA's membership includes U.S. and international bottlers, distributors and suppliers. IBWA is committed to working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates bottled water as a packaged food product, to set comprehensive and stringent standards for safe, high-quality bottled water products.

In addition to FDA regulations, IBWA member bottlers must adhere to the IBWA Bottled Water Code of Practice, which mandates additional standards and practices that in some cases are more stringent than federal and state regulations. A key feature of the IBWA Bottled Water Code of Practice is a mandatory annual plant inspection by an independent, third-party organization.

IBWA is proud to be a partner with Keep America Beautiful and a supporter of Drink Up, an initiative of former First Lady Michelle Obama and the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), which encourages Americans to drink more water more often - whether from the tap, a filter, or in a bottle. Choosing water is always the healthy choice.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
BOTTLED WATER INDUSTRY PROVIDES ASSISTANCE TO HAITIAN RELIEF EFFORTS - Bottled Water | IBWA | Bottled Water

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
BOTTLED WATER INDUSTRY PROVIDES ASSISTANCE TO HAITIAN RELIEF EFFORTS Statement of IBWA President Joseph K. Doss: "The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) and the bottled water industry have been working to provide bottled water to the victims of the earthquake in Haiti.