PETALING JAYA: The water you buy from vending machines may not be as clean as
you think.
Twenty-nine samples of water were drawn from such machines throughout the
Klang Valley – and almost all were contaminated.
There were harmful E. coli, Coliform and Clostridium perfringens
microbes – the same kind of bacteria found in untreated sewage.
Coliform and Clostridium perfringens are also the same bacteria
found in human and animal faeces.
These bacteria can cause cramps, diarrhoea and other gastrointestinal
problems.
The Star conducted the tests together with Forum Air Malaysia, an
organisation formed to assist the National Water Services Commission. Forum Air Malaysia tested 14 samples in April while
The Star screen
15.
The samples were from vending machines here and in Subang Jaya, Cheras, Klang
and Kuala Lumpur.
Under Malaysia’s Safe Drinking Water Act, there should not be any trace of
Coliform or E. coli in drinking water.
Forum Air research and policy executive Jesslyn Pek said it was worrying that
many of the samples did not have traces of free chlorine or fluoride, which are
chemicals needed to kill bacteria in water.
“From the tests on the 14 water samples, six were found to have either
Coliform or E. coli – and did not contain any free chlorine or chloride,” she
said.
“Free chlorine must be present, because it is a disinfectant,” Pek said.
“There are standards to determine how much free chlorine is needed to be used
to treat water, but as it cannot be detected at all in these samples, it shows
that an insufficient amount was used.”
In the tests conducted by
The Star with an accredited lab, all 15
samples tested positive for Coliform and
Clostridium perfringens.
Water vending machines are found in office and residential buildings and
universities or colleges.
People prefer to buy this water as it costs only about 20 sen a litre
compared to bottled water, which can cost more than RM2 for the same amount.
Article from the Star online 19 Aug 2014,,, http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2014/08/19/Bacteria-in-your-drinking-water-Germs-in-human-and-animal-faeces-found-in-vending-machines/
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