PRESS STATEMENT R: NEW VISION STORY OF 21.12.2016 titled CANCER-CAUSING LEAD FOUND IN WATER
23rd December , 2016
Reference is made to the New Vision article on the aforementioned subject matter, in particular, the commentary that bottled water was found to have a lesser concentration of lead (heavy metal) compared to other sources. UNBS wishes to clarify as follows;
- The bottled water that is certified by UNBS is safe for consumption
- The article raises a false alarm on bottled water on the Ugandan market.
- The standard for water provides for maximum permissible lead levels in water of 0.10mg/litre
- Bottled water that has been certified by UNBS has lead levels of less than 0.01 mg/l far below the maximum levels
- There are over 40 companies that are UNBS certified (ref UNBS website under list of certified companies)
- Laboratory results from a non-accredited laboratory always create doubt and cannot be relied upon to make an acceptable conclusion especially on people’s health and safety.
- The researcher needs to be helped if he is willing to provide UNBS with the method of analysis used, the calibration status of the equipment and standards used to have the results validated in UNBS accredited laboratory
Dr Ben Manyindo
Executive Director, UNBS