Is tap water healthy? Opinion June 2021 RIVM

Is tap water healthy? Is tap water in the Netherlands healthy or unhealthy? Is tap water safe, pure and clean? People in the Netherlands ingest too many PFAS through food and water. PFAS is a group of 4,000 chemicals with little or no degradability. They are dirt, grease and water repellent. For instance, PFAS are used to make rainwear waterproof, in pans to prevent frying, packaging materials and in lubricants. After recalculating previous studies, RIVM concludes that in the Netherlands we eat too many harmful PFAS through food and consume through tap water. What is in tap water? Also the chemicals in terms of medicine residues and pesticides. And the lead pipes in old houses including those in Amsterdam North.

The choice of spring water or mineral water still yields oxygen-poor drinking water. With a water ioniser you get drinking water packed with antioxidants to detoxify or detoxify your body 24/7. So both old exposure is nullified and new exposure to toxins is prevented. So then tap water becomes healthy combined with a built-in water filter for home.

New RIVM research on chemical environmental pollution

From new research shows that PFAS is more harmful to human health than previously believed. Once people involuntarily consume limited amounts of PFAS over a long period of time, this does not have a good impact on our immune system," according to the RIVM spokesperson. The function of our immune system is to protect against bacteria, viruses and diseases. If that does not work, people get sick more often or faster. It is impossible to say to what extent it really affects health. Is tap water healthy in Belgium? Is drinking tap water Belgium safe? Most likely, the same applies as in the Netherlands.

RIVM advises the government to ensure that people are less exposed to PFAS. There are very few things people can do to avoid PFAS in food and water. Healthy water and a varied diet are important to stay healthy even if you eat or drink small amounts of PFAS. Tap water was healthy but so tap water can be unhealthy?

Drinking water Netherlands bad 2020 and drinking water Netherlands bad 2021 are online questions that are increasingly being asked. And not without reason.

Is tap water healthy? or unhealthy in the Netherlands and Belgium?

The amount of PFAS that people ingest from tap water is limited. Therefore, RIVM believes that drinking tap water is responsible for public health. So the RIVM position on whether tap water is healthy or tap water is unhealthy is determined by insights from recent research. However, it does advise RIVM the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management to update standards for PFAS in tap water and reduce PFAS in tap water where possible.  RIVM is conducting further research on PFAS in soil and surface water. So there is also something unhealthy because the permissible standard is being revised downwards. So tap water healthy is a legitimate question. 

Commissioned by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, RIVM is currently working on a European roadmap to stop the production of PFAS. But because these substances degrade very slowly, they will remain in our environment for many years to come, the institute writes on its website. Therefore, it is important that the government too makes efforts to reduce exposure to these substances as much as possible. The department has announced its commitment to a European ban on all PFAS substances by 2025. RIVM recommends regulating PFAS standards in tap water and reducing the amounts where possible. Mat other words tap water is healthy but tap water is also unhealthy because the standards are adjusted.

Prefer to choose products without PFAS

Need for purify tap water? Consumers can lend a hand by making conscious health choices. Choose those products that do not contain PFAS and read the 2024 alarming PFAS news from the PWN. In particular, the non-stick coatings of pans and waterproof clothing contain harmful substances. A boycott by consumers to keep our food and tap water pure. A key question is tap water safe in the Netherlands and Belgium and is tap water healthy?