Scientists reveal whether tap or bottled water is safer after assessing toxic chemicals
Millions of Americans buy bottled water because of concerns about chemicals in tap water, but they can actually harm their health.
According to the International Bottled Water Association, Americans drink about 15 billion gallons of bottled water every year – about 45 gallons per person.
However, recent studies have shown that bottled water may not be as safe as it seems.
Last year, an extensive study found that three-quarters of bottled water contains harmful microplastics, which from the packaging enter our blood and accumulate in our organs, causing untold damage.
This led the researchers to conclude that “tap water is generally safe, cheap, convenient and environmentally friendly.”
However, other research has found that as many as 100 million Americans could be permanently exposed to chemicals in their tap water.
Now, amid the growing body of research, some scientists are now definitively saying that tap water is “generally safe,” is better regulated, and contains fewer microplastics than bottled water.
Experts warned that bottled water could be full of microplastics, tiny particles linked to hormone problems, infertility and cancer
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Dr. Phoebe Stapleton, associate professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at Rutgers University, said Food and wine: ‘Tap water has gotten a bad reputation due to the rise, availability and advertising of bottled water.
‘However, it has been shown that tap water is a better choice.
“It is cheaper, more environmentally friendly – especially when it comes to bottle production, processing, packaging, distribution and disposal – and is consistently regulated at the state and federal level.”
Tap water in the US is regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through the Safe Water Drinking Act. This requires public water systems to monitor water quality and provide public reports on the findings and potential contaminants.
However, John Rumpler, clean water director and senior attorney for Environment America, told Food & Wine, “There are more standards and regulations for tap water than for bottled water.”
Bottled water is regulated by the FDA as a food product. Although the agency regularly tests for bacteria and synthetic materials such as microplastics, this usually happens less often.
A study published in the journal BMJ Global Health Last year it was found that between 10 and 78 percent were transporting microplastics and pollutants such as phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA).
These have been shown to accumulate in organs and lead to hormone disruptions, infertility and some cancers.
In addition, research by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found that these microplastics from water bottles leach more than 200,000 fragments per liter into the water.

Although tap water is safer than bottled water, it is not without risks. Research has found that nearly half of US drinking water samples forever contain chemicals linked to cancer and heart disease (stock image)

The cities depicted on the map are just a handful of the many cities that have been found to have higher concentrations of PFAS in public water supplies and private wells.
However, a report published this week by the nonprofit Silent Spring Institute looked at more than 4,800 water sources and concluded that 27 percent — serving 97 million Americans — had detectable levels of at least one out of four had forever chemicals.
These chemicals, known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), do not break down in the environment, so they build up in the body and can lead to conditions such as cancer, thyroid disease and high cholesterol.
Another one 2023 study found PFAS in about 45 percent of U.S. drinking water samples.
To minimize the risk, Rumpler suggests using water filters to remove potential contaminants.
He also noted that bottled water is still generally safer than tap water in places with unsafe drinking water.
He said: ‘This may be the case during natural disasters, water emergencies, contamination due to water main breaks, established contamination or other lack of clean water supply.’