Watch Out for the Water!
By Laura Quarantiello

You've heard all about airline food, but have you heard about the water? Two Wall Street Journal reporters have blown the lid off a little noticed health concern of airline travel: the quality of water aboard aircraft. Samples of water from lavatory and galley taps on 14 different airlines flights revealed everything from E. Coli, salmonella, and Staphylococcus to the germ that causes Legionnaire's disease, proving that contamination is the rule, not the exception. "Almost all of the bacteria levels were tens, sometimes hundreds, of times above U.S. government limits," say the authors.

Though most water served to passengers on airline flights is bottled, sometimes the bottled water supply runs out, especially on long flights. In a pinch, flight attendants have been known to fill cups from the galley taps. Water for tea is taken from the same source. Passengers who wash their hands or faces, or brush their teeth in the lavatory are using water from the airplane's tanks, which may be contaminated. Water from a commercial airplane's tanks is required to meet federal drinking water standards, and the Food and Drug Administration has stepped in a few times to issue warnings related to contaminated airplane water, but the problem has generally stayed under the radar until now. But recently, the FDA has begun a program to take samples of airline water, and KLM Airlines has proposed that all airlines begin an official water-quality test program.

This is small comfort to those who fly regularly and just don't like the idea of bugs in their water. To limit your exposure to contaminated H2O while flying, follow these tips:

• Carry your own bottled water.
• Use only bottled water to wash your hands and face, and brush your teeth.
• Avoid cups of water served by flight attendants.
• Avoid ordering tea unless you can provide your own water.
• If bottled water isn't available and you forgot to bring your own, order a soft drink, but remember that caffeine can dehydrate you on a long flight.

© Tiare Publications

Laura Quarantiello is the author of "Air-Ways: The Insider's Guide to Air Travel," "On Guard – How to Win the War Against the Bad Guys," "Cyber Crime –How to Protect Yourself from Computer Criminals" and "The Root Beer Book - A Celebration of America's Favorite Soft Drink" For More info please visit: http://www.tiare.com/