Water quality aboard the nation's commercial aircraft deteriorated in the latest tests conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The EPA said yesterday that 17.2 percent of 169 aircraft randomly tested at 12 airports had water in galley taps and lavatory faucets that failed to meet federal safety standards.
The testing, conducted in November and December, followed an EPA report in the summer that found 12.7 percent of 158 aircraft had below-quality water. The airlines reached an agreement with the EPA in November to heighten their own inspection and monitoring of aircraft water systems and report their findings to the EPA each quarter. That self-monitoring is scheduled to begin this year and include disinfecting aircraft water tanks every three months.
The EPA's testing found that the water contained coliform bacteria, which is not usually a concern by itself but can be an indicator of possible other harmful organisms.
Passengers often drink bottled water during flights. The onboard supply, which is stored in tanks in the aircraft's belly, is used to make coffee and tea. The EPA advised passengers with compromised immune systems or others concerned to refrain from drinking tea or coffee unless made with bottled water.
The test results were "not alarming to us and [don't] set off any bells," because the majority of aircraft did not come up positive, said Thomas V. Skinner, acting assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.
Skinner said the agency did not plan another round of testing and instead will monitor the airlines' individual results.
Nancy Young, managing director of environmental programs for the Air Transport Association, said the airlines were pleased that there were no positive results for any harmful bacteria.
"Once again, the EPA chose to include samples from aircraft lavatories, which are essentially public restrooms, where there's a high potential for cross-contamination of samples," she said. "We're also concerned that many of the samples came from international carriers that the agency does not regulate."
