AAFES: Culligan’s bottled water is safe

[unhappycamper]

AAFES: Culligan’s bottled water is safe
By Scott Schonauer, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Thursday, February 28, 2008

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — Lab tests show Culligan’s bottled water is clean and safe to drink despite reports that some German wells have been found to contain unacceptable levels of uranium, an Army and Air Force Exchange Service spokesman said Wednesday.

Water from some Grünstadt wells, the source for Culligan’s bottled water, was found to contain 4 to 6 micrograms of uranium per liter, AAFES spokesman Lt. Col. David Konop wrote in an e-mail to Stars and Stripes on Wednesday.

But he added that Culligan’s plant in Grünstadt uses a water-purification process that nearly eliminates any trace of uranium. AAFES has been a licensed manufacturer of Culligan water products in Germany since 1997.

German newspaper Die Rheinpfalz reported in a story that appeared this week that tests showed drinking water from Grünstadt to have 4.21 micrograms of uranium per liter. That’s more than twice the amount recommended for water used for baby formula.

Uranium is a naturally occurring metal that can be found in groundwater. Studies have shown that unsafe levels of uranium can be harmful to kidneys, according to the World Health Organization.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=52907