EPA Wants New Rules for Testing Bacteria Levels in Airplane Tap Water

[Omaha Steve]

http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/04/epa-proposes-ne.html

By Dave Demerjian EmailApril 25, 2008

One thing we never do during a long flight is head to the lavatory and pour ourselves a nice cool glass of tap water. We don't know anyone who does. But that's not stopping the Environmental Protection Agency from proposing new rules designed to better test and limit the level of bacteria in water used on commercial airplanes.

Bloomberg reports that the EPA's 29-page plan, if implemented, would force airlines to set a schedule for testing water used in lavatories and restrooms, notifying the public of problems, and taking corrective action where necessary. The EPA estimates that the new measures would cost the aviation industry $8 million a year, which is small change compared to the buckets of cash they've been hemorrhaging lately.

So just what's living in that water, anyway?



While there have been a flurry of sensationalized stories about the state of aircraft water, there have been no documented cases of passenger illness. That said, an EPA test of 327 planes showed water on 15 percent of them testing positive for coliform bacteria. Coliform itself isn't usually harmful, but it can sometimes indicate the presence of other, more sinister pathogens such as E. coli. The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA says there have been many instances of flight attendants suffering gastrointestinal problems that could be caused by drinking or washing with contaminated water, but none of these have been proven, or even officially documented.

Unless passengers are guzzling water out of the tap, they wouldn't have much of an opportunity to imbibe contaminated water. The Airline Transport Association points out that bottled water has been the norm on flights for years, ice cubes are prepared by an outside catering service, and because coffee and tea are served hot, any potential bacteria would be killed.

Another point sometimes overlooked is that water on airplanes is only as safe as the source from which it is drawn. If airports are refilling planes with coliform-contaminated H2O, there's not much the airlines can do -- they would have neither the time or the means to get it purified.

Photo: Andrewk 100/Creative Commons 2.0

[nichomachus]

1. By all means, let's have contaminated water -- if it means lower costs for airlines

Why don't they just take the extra money out of their CEOs multimillion dollar bonuses and stock options?