Dangerous chemical found in bottled water

CHEMICALS linked to genital abnormalities in babies have been found in three of Britain's leading bottled water brands.

Scientists tested the 10 best-selling types of mineral water that use plastic seals inside aluminium caps on glass bottles.

Six were revealed to contain PVC and of those, three - Highland Spring, Hildon and Strathmore - had leached chemicals in PVC known as phthalates into the water.

Phthalates, which are used to soften plastics to make them bendy, have been banned in the EU for toys that children can put in their mouths. Studies have shown a strong correlation between mothers exposed to high levels of phthalates during pregnancy and genital abnormalities known as hypospadias in young boys.

However, there is no legislation in Britain banning the use of phthalates in food or drink packaging. In America the Toy Manufacturers Association has voluntarily stopped the use of phthalates in toys for children under three.

David Santillo, senior scientist at the Greenpeace Research Laboratory, said: "On its own you are not going to get a serious dose from bottled water but it is part of the drip, drip of exposure. The fact that it can be detected in water at all is remarkable and suggests that very high levels of phthalates are being used in the caps."

A spokesman for the Food Standards Agency said the levels of phthalates found did not exceed EU safety levels. Brands such as San Pellegrino and Evian do not use PVC in packaging.

A spokesperson for Highland Spring said: "The quality of our water is our top priority. Highland Spring is bottled at source from a protected, organic catchment area and all our water is perfectly safe to drink.

"Phthalates occur naturally in the environment and are commonly found in food and drink products, household items, medical devices and tap water.

"Trace elements were found in Highland Spring but the miniscule 0.005 mg/l sample was 99.7 per cent lower than the EU safe limit of 1.5 mg/l.

"The caps which were tested were of the previous industry standard which strictly conforms with EU safety and packaging regulations. I can confirm that Highland Spring no longer uses PVC in any caps."