As pure (and as toxic) as a clear mountain stream - The Times 5th November 2007

This columnist is saddened by warnings of a health hazard on the hillsides Here’s an interesting dilemma. Out for a weekend walk with your family, you start to climb a beautiful, remote hill. As the weather is unexpectedly warm, you soon finish the water you brought with you. While you pause half way up, enjoying the view, your eight-year-old tells you she is parched and wants to drink from the cold, clear mountain stream that burbles at your feet. Do you (a) smile beatifically and let her do it; telling her she will never have tasted such pure water; or (b) tell her on no account to touch it as it might well be contaminated with E.coli 0157 that could, within hours, strip the lining of her intestines to something resembling strawberry jam, and then move into her kidneys, first destroying their function and then shutting down her life, despite the best technology the NHS could offer her.

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