Bottled water: 17 brands unsafe for drinking

PCRWR releases report for Oct to Dec 2012.

Seventeen companies have been found to be selling unsafe water for drinking, said a press release issued on Thursday by the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR).

The water brands were identified as: Atlantis, Mezban Water, Fresh Pure Water, Vina, Active, Excellent Natural, Al-Saudia, Kallan Water, Cool, Oriel, Tahoor, Nation, Lock, Aqua National, Aqua Life, Pan Pura and Premie.

All 17 companies failed to meet the water purity standards set by Standard Quality Control Authority, according to the press statement. The samples from these companies were found to be contaminated with chemical or other microbiological impurities.

Some samples contained high levels of arsenic ranging from 15-58 ppb, against a permissible limit of 10 ppb. Arsenic can cause cancer, diabetes, kidney diseases, hypertension, heart diseases, birth defects, and black foot diseases, among others. Contaminated water can also cause cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis and typhoid.

The PRCWR tested water of 77 companies from Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Bahawalpur, Faisalabad, Multan, D.G. Khan Sargodha, Sialkot, Sahiwal, D.I.Khan, Quetta, and Peshawar. The survey was conducted between October and December 2012.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 18^th, 2013.