No Arsenic in American Zam Zam Water Written by Administrator Thursday, 01 December 2005 19:18
By Farkhunda Ali
Muslim Link Contributing Writer
The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) reported no contamination of excessive arsenic in the US markets’ Zam Zam water. Zam Zam is a self-replenishing water, which is considered to be sacred to Muslims all over the world. It is a miracle how it came to being in the middle of the desert for Ishmael and his mother Haajar.
Recently, the Food Standards Agency in the UK found almost three times the authorized arsenic in a brand of Zam Zam water. The authorities in the UK advised people not to purchase, distribute, import, or drink any commercial brands of Zam Zam water because of its poisonous intensity of arsenic.
Arsenic is a basic semi-metallic element, which appears as a 33rd element in the Periodic Table of Elements. In its original form, arsenic is a steel grey, very brittle, crystalline solid, which is naturally found in rocks, and soil. Arsenic is highly poisonous and is known to cause cancer in human beings and other living things.
According to a 1999 study conducted by the National Academy of Sciences, “arsenic can cause bladder, lung, and skin cancer and may cause kidney and liver cancer.” In addition, a refined white powdered poisonous trioxide of arsenic is used in manufacturing glass and as a pesticide to kill weeds and pests.
On January 22, 2001, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) adopted a new standard and public water systems will be required to comply with the 10 parts per billion (ppb) standard for arsenic in drinking water beginning January 23, 2006. Currently, the approved standard of arsenic in drinking water is 50 ppb. The EPA reported that it “expects to make a
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