Kingdom rejects BBC claim of Zamzam water contamination

[bamalli]

Kingdom rejects BBC claim of Zamzam water contamination

Saudi authorities have refuted a BBC report claiming that the Zamzam well in
Makkah is polluted and that drinking the holy water could cause diseases
such as cancer.

Zuhair Nawab, president of Saudi Geological Survey (SGS), denied the
allegation and said his organization has taken adequate measures to ensure
the safety of Zamzam well and its water.

The BBC said it had asked a pilgrim to take samples from the Zamzam water
taps in Makkah and the Zamzam water being sold in bottles to compare them
with the water on sale illegally.

"These showed high levels of nitrate and potentially harmful bacteria, and
traces of arsenic three times the permitted level, just like the illegal
water, which was purchased in the UK," the BBC said, referring to
contaminated holy water sold in some UK shops.

Nawab said his organization has been responsible for monitoring the quality
of Zamzam water, which not only concerns Saudi Arabia but the whole Islamic
world. "Our experts monitor the condition of Zamzam on a daily basis. Every
day we take three samples from the water to carry out tests and studies,
which showed that it was not contaminated," he explained. He said the newly
established King Abdullah Zamzam Water Distribution Center in Makkah is
equipped with advanced facilities and where bottling takes place in
accordance with international standards.

"We apply modern methods for filling bottles after sterilization," Nawab
said.

He said the contamination of the water could have caused while
redistributing the water in small bottles by individuals.

Fahd Turkistani, adviser to the Presidency for Meteorology and Environment,
said the BBC report focused on bottled water supplied by individuals and not
by the Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques Affairs. The water supplied by the
presidency undergoes close monitoring and ultraviolet rays are applied to
kill harmful bacteria, he added.

Turkistani said the Zamzam water contamination could have caused by illegal
workers who sell Zamzam water at Makkah gates as they use unsterilized
containers. He said the Saudi government has prohibited such illegal sales
of Zamzam water.

Meanwhile, a responsible source at the Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques
Affairs highlighted the measures taken for the protection of Zamzam water
saying the water passes through stainless steel pipes to the cooling
stations and then to the Grand Mosque.

He said the presidency has given utmost importance for the preservation and
distribution of Zamzam water, adding that it is closely monitored around the
clock.

According to the World Health Organization, the permitted arsenic rate in
natural water is up to 10 microgram per liter. If the rate goes up then the
water could be harmful to the kidney and liver and cause cancer. The rate of
arsenic in Zamzam water is much less than the amount permitted by the WHO.

Talal Mahjoub, a Saudi, denounced the move to create suspicion about the
quality of Zamzam water.

"My family and I have been drinking Zamzam for many years. None of us have
suffered any disease as a result of drinking it. If the BBC report was true,
Makkans would have suffered many diseases, including cancer, because most of
them drink Zamzam."

The Saudi Embassy in London also issued a statement affirming the purity of
Zamzam in Makkah.

"Scientific tests conducted on samples taken from the original source have
proved the Zamzam water is good for drinking," it said, referring to tests
conducted on the water at a French laboratory. It said the Kingdom does not
export Zamzam water. The King Abdullah Zamzam water complex, which was
established in Makkah last September at a cost of SR700 million, can supply
200,000 bottles daily.


'Zamzam water is safe'


The Saudi Embassy in the United Kingdom said Saturday that water from the
Zamzam well in Makkah is not contaminated and is fit for human consumption.

This came in response to a report first aired on Channel One of the British
Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and later reported by local newspapers in
London recently.

The reports stated that there are high levels of arsenic in both fake and
genuine Zamzam water found in the United Kingdom.

The embassy said in a statement that tests have been conducted on samples of
Zamzam water at its primary source. This has proven that Zamzam water is fit
for drinking and human consumption.

The embassy said that laboratories approved by the Ministry of Health based
in Leon, France, analyzed the water in March and found it safe.

"In line with the standardization in France the analysis conducted on a
specimen of Zamzam water showed that the water is fit for human
consumption."

The embassy reiterated that the Kingdom does not export Zamzam, so the
people selling the water in the United Kingdom fall under the jurisdiction
of the British authorities.

It said the presence of a label on a vessel does not necessarily mean it is
pure Zamzam water found at the original source in Makkah, which is provided
by the King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Zamzam Water Project and overseen by the
Minister of Water and Electricity.

The statement stressed that great care is taken to provide pure Zamzam
water.

The King's project was launched in 2010 at a cost of SR700,000, which uses
the latest technology for the automated distribution of Zamzam water.