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I wonder how air Canada reconciles this. There was a popular globe and mail article a while ago that gave awful rankings to air Canada's water tanks -- so the c

I wonder how air Canada reconciles this. There was a popular globe and mail article a while ago that gave awful rankings to air Canada's water tanks -- so the company put up signs in the bathroom saying the water is non-potable and called it a day. Not super comforting if they're then using the same 'non-potable' water to make coffee...

gruez 10mo ago
>Not super comforting if they're then using the same 'non-potable' water to make coffee... It's presumably boiled, which makes it potable?
- illiac786 10mo ago
  boiling it will remove bacterias, but not toxins (if there are any).
  - gruez 10mo ago
    Is there any reason to expect there would be "toxins", given that it's just water? I can imagine how there might be accumulated toxins it's a pack of chicken breasts left in a hot car for 8 hours, but if it's water it should be fine? After all, boiling water is a tried and true way of making water safe to drink.
    - illiac786 10mo ago
      Heavy metals [1] Nitrate and nitrite [2] PFAs most probably (couldn’t find anything about this, but since it’s everywhere…) [1] https://www.webpronews.com/study-exposes-airline-water-contaminants-threatening-gut-health-and-longevity/ https://www.webpronews.com/study-exposes-airline-water-conta... [2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK310709/#:~:text=Besides%20microbial%20organisms,%20a%20few%20inorganic%20chemical%20substances,%20such%20as%20nitrate%20and%20nitrite%20(which%20can%20enter%20the%20source%20water%20from%20agricultural%20activity,%20sewage%20inflow%20or%20sewage%20cross-contamination%20in%20plumbed%20systems)%20and%20copper%20(which%20may%20leach%20into%20drinking-water%20from%20copper%20piping),%20may%20also%20be%20of%20health%20concern%20due%20to%20subpopulations%20that%20may%20be%20at%20risk%20from%20excess%20short-term%20exposures.%20For%20instance,%20methaemoglobinaemia%20may%20be%20caused%20by%20the%20temporary%20exposure%20of%20infants%20to%20nitrate%20and%20nitrite,%20among%20other%20contributing%20factors;%20and%20gastric%20irritation%20may%20result%20from%20short-term%20exposure%20to%20copper%20(WHO,%202004). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK310709/#:~:text=Beside...
    - bmacho 10mo ago
      > After all, boiling water is a tried and true way of making water safe to drink. It's not.
      - gruez 10mo ago
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiling#For_making_water_potable https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiling#For_making_water_potab... Yes, there are substances that slip through, but it works well enough for most cases that it's probably fine. Otherwise you get into weird edge cases like "what if there are prions in the water?!?" or whatever.
        fingerlocks 10mo ago
        Heavy metals are a big problem, especially from cheap brass fittings common in outdoor water hoses. Indoor plumbing, by contrast, uses copper and/or plex tubing and so there’s near zero risk of metal poisoning (caveat on cheap plex fittings- don’t do that.)
- chrisfosterelli 9mo ago
  I guess I don't know exactly how these airplane machines work but in general ideal coffee brewing does not reach the full boiling point.

gruez 10mo ago

>Not super comforting if they're then using the same 'non-potable' water to make coffee... It's presumably boiled, which makes it potable?

illiac786 10mo ago
boiling it will remove bacterias, but not toxins (if there are any).
- gruez 10mo ago
  Is there any reason to expect there would be "toxins", given that it's just water? I can imagine how there might be accumulated toxins it's a pack of chicken breasts left in a hot car for 8 hours, but if it's water it should be fine? After all, boiling water is a tried and true way of making water safe to drink.
  - illiac786 10mo ago
    Heavy metals [1] Nitrate and nitrite [2] PFAs most probably (couldn’t find anything about this, but since it’s everywhere…) [1] https://www.webpronews.com/study-exposes-airline-water-contaminants-threatening-gut-health-and-longevity/ https://www.webpronews.com/study-exposes-airline-water-conta... [2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK310709/#:~:text=Besides%20microbial%20organisms,%20a%20few%20inorganic%20chemical%20substances,%20such%20as%20nitrate%20and%20nitrite%20(which%20can%20enter%20the%20source%20water%20from%20agricultural%20activity,%20sewage%20inflow%20or%20sewage%20cross-contamination%20in%20plumbed%20systems)%20and%20copper%20(which%20may%20leach%20into%20drinking-water%20from%20copper%20piping),%20may%20also%20be%20of%20health%20concern%20due%20to%20subpopulations%20that%20may%20be%20at%20risk%20from%20excess%20short-term%20exposures.%20For%20instance,%20methaemoglobinaemia%20may%20be%20caused%20by%20the%20temporary%20exposure%20of%20infants%20to%20nitrate%20and%20nitrite,%20among%20other%20contributing%20factors;%20and%20gastric%20irritation%20may%20result%20from%20short-term%20exposure%20to%20copper%20(WHO,%202004). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK310709/#:~:text=Beside...
  - bmacho 10mo ago
    > After all, boiling water is a tried and true way of making water safe to drink. It's not.
    - gruez 10mo ago
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiling#For_making_water_potable https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiling#For_making_water_potab... Yes, there are substances that slip through, but it works well enough for most cases that it's probably fine. Otherwise you get into weird edge cases like "what if there are prions in the water?!?" or whatever.
      - fingerlocks 10mo ago
        Heavy metals are a big problem, especially from cheap brass fittings common in outdoor water hoses. Indoor plumbing, by contrast, uses copper and/or plex tubing and so there’s near zero risk of metal poisoning (caveat on cheap plex fittings- don’t do that.)
chrisfosterelli 9mo ago
I guess I don't know exactly how these airplane machines work but in general ideal coffee brewing does not reach the full boiling point.