STATEMENT
WASHINGTON, Sept. 20, 2004 – The Air Transport Association issued the following statement today regarding results of a recent EPA study of airline drinking water quality:
“While we are confident that airline drinking water is safe, we take the EPA’s findings seriously and are working collaboratively with the agency to resolve any questions about the quality of airline drinking water.
“However, we are concerned that the agency’s findings are inconsistent with recent studies that have demonstrated the safety of drinking water on commercial aircraft. Those studies include tests conducted by the Food and Drug Administration as well as a comprehensive study conducted by the Air Transport Association with EPA oversight. Both studies found that airline drinking water is free of contaminants that might pose health risks.
“In contrast with the ATA study, EPA's findings are based on a small sample (approximately 1% of the worldwide fleet) that does not allow any statistical conclusions about aircraft drinking water. There also are questions about how the EPA collected water samples, specifically what measures were taken to safeguard against cross-contamination.
“Fortunately, no one has gotten sick from airline drinking water. There are no reported cases of illnesses due to aircraft drinking water. And there were no adverse health effects found in the EPA study or any other federal study, for that matter.
“Additionally, U.S. airlines continue to follow well-established practices to ensure a safe supply of drinking water on board commercial aircraft, including the routine disinfection of water tanks under longstanding EPA and FDA guidelines.”
ATA airline members transport more than 90 percent of all U.S. airline passenger and cargo traffic.
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