10 brands of mineral water found contaminated

ISLAMABAD: As many as 10 brands of mineral water have been found contaminated that can cause various diseases ranging from diabetes, black foot, birth defects, diarrhea, dysentery and hepatitis to hypertension and heart ailments.
According to the monitoring report of Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) for the quarter October-December, 2014, 76 samples of mineral/bottled water brands have been collected from Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Bahawalpur, Tando Jam, Karachi, Quetta, and Peshawar.
Comparison of analytical findings with permissible limits of Pakistan Standard Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) has revealed that 10 brands were found to be unsafe due to chemical or microbiological contamination including Dewan Water Express, Aqua National, Natur Aqua, Butt Water, Best Natural, Noble, AFRA, NASH, Aftab Qarshi and Ideal Life.
Out of these 10 unsafe brands, four brands (Aqua National, Natur Aqua, Butt Water, Best Natural) have comparatively high level of arsenic ranging from 27-57 ppb than PSQCA water quality standard for arsenic (10 ppb).
The excessive level of arsenic can cause various types of skin diseases, diabetes, kidney diseases, hypertension, heart diseases, birth defects, black foot diseases and multiple types of cancers. Whereas two brands (Aftab Qarshi and Ideal Life) were found to be unsafe due to microbiological contamination that may cause cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, hepatitis, typhoid, etc.
The remaining brands were found unsafe due to the presence of higher levels of sodium, potassium and TDS. The national quality control/surveillance authorities should take legal action against the companies, which are supplying contaminated bottled water and playing havoc with the health of the people.