The reason why the EWG did this study is because tap water has to be tested by the government at least once per year to see if there are pollutants, but there is nobody like that testing bottled water. The companies that make bottled water claim that they hold themselves to the same government standards, so the EWG decided to see if they were telling the truth.
The results are not great. First, they determined that Walmart and Giant's store brands ("Sam's Choice" and "Acadia," respectively) are essentially tap water. And those were the healthiest of the brands tested. There were all kinds of pollutants in the other brands, including Tylenol and arsenic:
Altogether, the analyses [...] of these 10 brands of bottled water revealed a wide range of pollutants, including not only disinfection byproducts, but also common urban wastewater pollutants like caffeine and pharmaceuticals (Tylenol); heavy metals and minerals including arsenic and radioactive isotopes; fertilizer residue (nitrate and ammonia); and a broad range of other, tentatively identified industrial chemicals used as solvents, plasticizers, viscosity decreasing agents, and propellants.
The EWG did not name the other 8 brands of bottle water for various reasons, including the fact that the level of pollution in each brand can change over time (eg, a company might change its purification system slightly from one month to the next). In case you are wondering, the Walmart and Giant brands were revealed because they were some of the first tests that EWG did, and EWG is planning to bring a lawsuit against Walmart soon.
Now, there may be some of you at home who are wondering why Walmart would have a lawsuit brought against them, if they were just bottling tap water. Well, that's because California has some of the toughest laws in the county about chemical levels in consumer products. (You are probably familiar with the label: “WARNING: This product contains a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer" -- note that it's only California and not other states!) Apparently, Walmart was bottling their water in Nevada (specifically in Las Vegas), where they allow higher levels of pollution. If Walmart doesn't change their water soon, they are going to have to start putting that Warning label on their water.
What should you, Wave Makers, do? Stop drinking water?
NO! If bottled water is all that's available, then by all means drink it! Water is one of the most basic nutrients for human beings. But instead of just thinking about what's immediately available to you, start planning ahead.
The first thing that you can do is take that empty water bottle that you just drank and fill it with the filtered water from the tap in the kitchen. That way, you get the healthiest water available and you produce less trash!
The second thing that you can do is buy something like a Kleen Kanteen, which is made of stainless steel, to hold your water. Long story short, many plastics have certain kinds of toxins that leech into whatever is inside of them. I wouldn't worry too much if I were you, especially if you're not putting hot liquids (eg hot chocolate) into them, but in both my and EWG's opinion, it's best to be on the safe side.
[Extra: EWG's last major report came out early in the summer, revealing that 4 out of 5 sunscreens "contain chemicals that may pose health hazards or don't adequately protect skin from the sun's damaging rays. Some of the worst offenders are leading brands like Coppertone, Banana Boat, and Neutrogena."]
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