Raising Awareness on Bottled Water at APHA

On Nov. 7, 2009, some 13,000 public health practitioners and advocates will converge on Philadelphia for the 137th Annual Meeting & Exposition of APHA.  With its theme of Water and Public Health, the meeting is a unique opportunity to educate the public health community about the many health, environmental, social, and economic issues associated with bottled water. As a forum for sharing best practices, the meeting is an opportunity to reflect the knowledge and public health values that it wishes to promote.  

In 2007, U.S. consumers spent $12 billion on nearly 9 billion gallons of bottled water, in large part because advertising has lead them to believe that water in a bottle is safer or better than tap water.  In fact, while the federal government requires rigorous and frequent testing of municipal tap water supplies, the same standards are not applied to bottled water. The Environmental Protection Agency, which regulates tap water, requires utilities to test municipal water hundreds of times a month. Yet the Food and Drug Administration, the entity that regulates bottled water, only requires bottling companies to test their product once a week.

Independent testing has found arsenic, microbes, toxic chemicals, and other pollutants in some brands of bottled water. Moreover, many researchers believe that phthalates, chemicals used to soften plastics, can leach into the water they contain.  Phthalates and other substances used to make plastic have been linked to birth defects and cancer in humans and to environmental problems.

Philadelphia is a leader in water conservation and safety. The City of Philadelphia’s water authority consistently tests the city’s water supply as mandated by the Clean Water Act.  In fact, according to research conducted by the consumer advocacy group Food & Water Watch, the city’s water has been violation-free since 1974 when the Safe Drinking Water Act was first implemented.

Philadelphia is also on the cutting edge of water testing.  It monitors for pharmaceuticals, a practice that most other cities do not follow.  The Philadelphia Water Department’s 2008 Annual Drinking Water Quality Report reveals that the city’s water met federal standards for acceptable levels of metals, disinfection biproducts, organic carbon, bacteria, and inorganic chemicals.

Educating attendees about bottled water at a meeting the size of the APHA Annual Meeting is certainly advantageous.  In doing so, participants will  learn to protect their health while reducing plastic waste, the production and disposal of which harms the environment.  We encourage members of the Food and Nutrition Section and other sections to join us in the following efforts:

• Use a refillable water bottle instead of disposable plastic bottles.
• Encourage your APHA colleagues to use reusable water bottles at the 2009 Annual Meeting. Before the meeting , participants should be reminded to bring their own. If you do not own one, stainless steel bottles will be available for purchase at the conference.
•  CurrentAPHA Meetings utilize pitchers of water at all speakers’ tables instead of disposable bottles. This is a practice widely employed at meetings and conferences around the world. We recognize that this policy requires case-by-case consideration of the quality of drinking water; ensuring that the water in pitchers is filtered will help alleviate health concerns while reducing waste.
• Future events should strongly consider setting up water filtration stations.They provide access to potable tap water on a larger scale than drinking fountains.  Water filtration stations can be set up in a variety of configurations and environments, both indoors and outdoors. It is good for attendees’ pocketbooks as well as their health. 
• Learn about the quality of the drinking water in your community by obtaining a water report from the water company. Food & Water Watch has a guide on how to read a water report.

APHA promotes sustainable practices both at the annual meetings and within the organization  by adopting policies that encourage recycling and prohibit smoking. APHA's green initiatives are highlighted on its Web site.  Promoting the use of reusable water bottles is an important next step as we focus on water and public health next fall in Philadelphia.

The Water Committee of the APHA Food and Environment Working Group contributed to this piece. The Working Group, comprised primarily of members of the Food and Nutrition and Environment Sections, works through public health avenues to create a sustainable, just, and healthy food system. If you would like to work with us toward this goal, contact Joy Casnovsky.