Bottled Water
German researchers have found that the longer a bottle of water sits on a store shelf or in a household pantry, the higher the dose of antimony it contains. Amounts of this potentially toxic trace element were measured for 15 brands of Canadian bottled water and 48 European brands. Concentrations reached more than 100 times the average level of antimony in pristine groundwaters (2 parts per trillion).
However, the concentration was even higher after the bottles were left to sit at room temperature for six months. Antimony concentrations in the Canadian bottled waters increased by 19 percent, concentrations in the European brands increased by 90 percent.
Most of the water tested was packaged in bottles made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Antimony trioxide is used as a catalyst in the manufacture of PET. The different concentrations of antimony in the various brands might have been caused by differing temperatures, water pHs, or exposure to sunlight.
If you've switched to bottled water in hopes of avoiding the perils of drinking unfiltered tap water, you have some fine-tuning to do. You will want to seriously consider other options as you probably don't want to increase your intake of the potentially toxic metal antimony.
Additionally, most bottled water products are packaged in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) containers. When at all possible, I avoid plastic bottles; I bring my water to my office with me in a glass container, as that is better.
Another important reason to avoid plastic water bottles is the fact that our overuse of them is pushing the health of planet earth in the wrong direction.
If you want to make sure your water is safe, I recommend using a reverse osmosis filter, which enables you to rely on your own well or municipal source for safe, clean water and give up bottles for good.