SAMPLES: The quality of the analysed bottled water samples, with respect to inorganic parameters, was surprisingly good.A new comprehensive guide to European groundwater, prepared on the basis of analyses of bottled water, will allow consumers to make a conscious choice of the best product for their health and taste.
1785 samples
The new atlas, 'Geochemistry of European Bottled Water', presented September 13th by EuroGeoSurveys, the organisation of 32 European national Geological Surveys, provides the chemical composition of 1785 bottled water samples, divided into 1247 different sources at 848 locations, from 38 European countries altogether.
EuroGeoSurveys’ geochemists analysed the chemical composition of European bottled water from a geological point of view. The samples were purchased in supermarkets during 2008 and subsequently analysed in one single laboratory. The survey is important, 
COVER: The new atlas, 'Geochemistry of European Bottled Water'.since more than 1900 brands of bottled water are currently registered in Europe and the market is rapidly expanding.
Top level specialists
The book edited by Clemens Reimann, Geological Survey of Norway (NGU), and Manfred Birke, Federal Institute for Geosciences and the Natural Resources (BGR) in Germany, is the result of the multiannual work of the EuroGeoSurveys’ Geochemistry Expert Group, an international pool of top level European specialists in the field of regional geochemistry in cooperation with a number of hydrogeologists.
Some bottled water samples exceeded the water norms for parameters like Arsenic, Barium, Fluoride, Nitrates and Nitrites and Selenium. Moreover, the data demonstrate that a common European action level for Uranium in drinking water is needed.
Good quality
As an example, the highest amount of the rare earth elements were found in Norway, the highest uranium value in the Czech Republic and the highest nitrate value in a mineral water from Slovakia.
Overall, the editors say that the quality of the analysed bottled water samples, with respect to inorganic parameters, was surprisingly good. Only very few samples exceeded mineral (or drinking water) action levels. The editors also point out that given the large natural variation for some elements, deficiency problems may play an as large or larger role than toxicity.
Below action levels
In addition, a number of bottled waters show elevated values of Antimony, which has been proved to leach from bottle materials into the water, especially from “soft” PET bottles. In this case, the researchers make it quite clear that all leaching values were well below the respective drinking water action levels. Many more elements were shown to leach from the bottle material into the water, including lead from glass bottles. Nevertheless, all values leaching from bottle materials were well below the drinking water action levels.
“As a matter of fact” – the editors add – “the range in concentration of chemical elements in bottled water represents the range naturally found in European groundwater. The new results from this harmonised overall European survey show an enormous natural variation (up to 7 orders of magnitude for some elements, including uranium) of many elements in water at the European scale”.
The main message from the atlas is that geology influences the quality of groundwater and, therefore, of bottled water. “The atlas provides access to this knowledge”, the editors say.
OneGeology project
“The atlas is another success story of our Geochemistry Expert Group. It is evident that it brings a further crucial contribution to the knowledge of the quality of groundwater at the continental scale, and of its strong dependency on the geology of Europe”, says Luca Demicheli, Secretary General of EuroGeoSurveys.
“Launching the book on the occasion of our General Meeting here in Copenhagen, Denmark, has been perfectly timed for other synergies” – he adds. “We have concomitantly organised, jointly with the European Environment Agency, a workshop on the OneGeology-Europe project, anticipating the launch of the new book on the project and the release of its web geoportal, thereby fostering the cooperation between EGS and EEA on data management”.
OneGeology-Europe is the main EU contribution to OneGeology, the largest world project in the field of Earth sciences creating the first ever ‘geological Google Earth’.
Groundwater composition
The bottled water study, developed by the European Geological Surveys, which are responsible for groundwater surveys and monitoring in most European countries, demonstrates that bottled water can be used as a proxy for groundwater composition.
“The chemical composition of bottled water is strongly influenced by the geology and geochemistry of the rocks from which it is derived. The bottled water data set is thus used to provide a first impression of the variability and regional distribution of groundwater chemistry at a continental scale” – Reimann and Birke say.
“The bottled water data are compared to European surface water, tap water and Norwegian bedrock groundwater and it is surprising how similar the four water types are for many elements”.
All the data and results are presented in the book, which is accompanied by a CD-ROM containing the original data sets. The book also presents a review of the legal framework for bottled water sold in the European Union. It provides a comprehensive compilation of current drinking water action levels in Europe and the values recommended by the WHO, FAO and the USEPA.