Help! Is Bottled Water safe? What can/ should we drink?
I have seen so many people say to drink bottled water. How do we know if it's safe? If it needs to have been bottled before the accident how do we figure that out? Does anyone know if any type of filtration system will work for showering/ brushing teeth etc. please help I'm desperate here to protect my children. thank you
I'm not an expert, but I can
I'm not an expert, but I can share with you what I have found out so far.
As jmiller said, activated charcoal filter can be very effective. Reverse osmosis filtration appears to remove the elements of concern as well.
I bought a water distiller for $80 at thrift store. It produces a gallon of water in about 90 minutes using 29cents worth of electricity. If I run the water through it twice, it's roughly 60cents for a gallon of very very clean water - and still less than the price of bottled water.
imho, you are right to be concered. whole-house filtration can be very expensive, but if the idea is that you want to avoid ingesting/breathing certain things, than you have to take into account the shower and the washing machine in addition to the kitchen sink.
Just like with anything else, overall health and well being are your best defenses. Good luck.
Alex (not a doctor or an engineer!)
Re: Help! Is bottled water safe for my chilren
It means alot that you took the time to reply being that you are a reputable source on this site. However I am concerned about my children only because they already have compromised immune systems. I would like to take the better safe than sorry approach and know that I did everything in my power to protect then from further damage. As a result, I wondered what you might do (hypothetically speaking) should the risk become more prevalent. As in if you needed to purchase a system to filter your tap water what kind would you purchase? Or if the water was no longer safe would bottled water then also be considered unsafe? I'm sorry I don't mean to put you on the spot I would just like to prepare should the situation become worse. By the way we also eat organic actually only organic and I'm concerned about that as well considering all the animals eat of the land and ate allowed to roam freely so I wonder if the organic might have higher results than the nonorganic? Thank you for your time as it is much appreciated.
JMiller, THANK YOU
JMiller -- sorry, I don't know whether to call you "sir", or "ma'am", I thank you. Your prompt, thoughtful, deliberate, clear communications on this and other points are helping keep my blood pressure somewhat manageable. It is especially good of you to respond, as you have above, given how many demands must be on your time and attention, as that of all your colleagues there at the Berkeley Lab. You have demonstrated a compassion and an attention to the (perhaps not entirely well-founded, defensible, or even rational) concerns of persons orders of magnitude less educated or versed in these matters than you guys are, that does credit to you, your Department, your University, and your profession. In short: I wish there were more folks like you out there that we could see and hear and communicate with during this, most profoundly unique event in all of human history.
I know I, myself, cannot abide unsolicited praise, so I'll understand if you reject this out of hand, but: You are, perhaps in a small way, but a meaningful one, a hero, along with your fellow scientists there who are taking pains to ensure there is at least one small beacon of reliable information, of prompt investigation, of "transparency" out there... You are performing a rare and essential public service, not only to the citizens of California, but to mankind. I hope someday that your efforts are honored and appropriately recognized. I would be proud to take part in such an event.
Rick Cromack.
Allen, Texas
RichardFCromackJr@gmail.com
Black Berkey
You need to filter/purify the water yourself. I suggest the Black Berkey system. I'm a frequent drinker of bottled water, most from California, but that is probably going to change, unless it's from a very protected source.