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About Cassandra
Expertise
I am an expert in urban legends, faxlore, and related chain e-mails. Check with me before "FORWARDING THIS TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW!" to see if it has any validity.

Experience
I have been reading about and studying Urban Legends and folklore as a hobby for many years now.

You are here: Experts > Science > Urban Legends and Folklore > Urban Legends > plastic water bottle

Urban Legends - plastic water bottle

Expert: Cassandra - 3/1/2008

Question
is it safe to drink out of a plastic bottol left in a car

Answer
That's a rather vague question.

It depends quite a lot, I expect, whether the bottle is still factory sealed, whether someone has been drinking out of it, and most importantly, how long it's been left there.

However, my best guess is that you're referring to the legend discussed on this page:
http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/petbottles.asp
That legend claims that cancer-causing toxins will leach from the bottle into the water. The study referred to in this myth has been shown to be incorrect.

Other pages discussing/debunking the myth:
http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4060
http://www.lisabarger.com/water_bottles_and_cancer.html

And from an extremely credible source, the American Cancer Society:
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/MED/content/MED_6_1x_Reusing_Plastic_Water_Bottles...

Hope this helps!

Cassandra

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