ANYONE WHO HAS STRAPPED into an airline seat for more than six hours at a time knows that it's not a good idea to brush their teeth with water coming out of an aircraft's tap. A study of tap water on board 327 American aircraft has found that 15% of the samples tested positive for coliform bacteria. Colifoms are not an essential food group. In the study sample, one in five tap tests failed to detect any chlorine, indicating that the water supplied had not been treated against contamination at all. Speaking from experience, the water supplied to the aircraft's taps could actually have come from a fleet service vehicle, the ones used for latrine servicing, aircraft washing, and anti-icing.The Environmental Protection Agency did the study but did not name the international carriers but the Sunday Times confirms all the carriers involved serve Heathrow or Gatwick. The EPA has ordered all US-registered commercial aircraft to test and disinfect water served from taps in aircraft lavatories. Personally, I would buy bottled water in departure lounges and carry that aboard along with my water purity tester (at left).Katie Bowman -- "Airline tap water not fit for human consumption" in Travel News, The Sunday Times, 25 Oct 09.
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