Is Drinking Bottled Water left In The Car Dangerous?

One of the most well known “facts” out there is that drinking bottled water from a plastic bottle left in a hot car can be extremely dangerous, enough to even cause cancer. I know that I’ve advised my friends and family against doing it, and I’ve been warned just the same. The theory is that the dioxins, a group of chemicals that have been associated with a lot of health problems, are thought to leak through the plastic and contaminate the water when the bottle heats up.

But it turns out that this is a huge myth and it starts with the fact that there aren’t any dioxins in the plastic material to begin with. Other claims say that there’s DEHA, another supposedly harmful substance, in the plastic water bottles, that can cause cancer. The American Cancer Society has addressed this claim, quoting the American Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which says that even if there was DEHA in the plastic water bottles, it “cannot reasonably be anticipated to cause cancer, teratogenic effects, immunotoxicity, neurotoxicity, gene mutations, liver, kidney, reproductive, or developmental toxicity or other serious or irreversible chronic health effects.”

So, that brings us to one more claim that says bisphenol, a BPA that has shown to have “estrogenic” effects in animal studies, can leak through and impact cancer risk. But an article on Prevention.com says this isn’t a matter of concern either since most drinking water bottles in the U.S. are made BPA-free (just look for it on the front of the bottle).

So, there seems to be enough credible literature out there that assures that there isn’t any immediate danger from drinking from a plastic water bottle that’s been sitting in a car. With that said, I can’t imagine it being GREAT for you either. Why not play caution to the wind and just avoid this situation altogether, in my opinion. Playing it safe never hurt anyone!

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