An urban myth: bottled water hazard, heated plastic releases dioxin

Hi there

Have you recently received a message warning you not to drink water from a plastic bottle that has been "cooked" in your car? Because Sheryl Crow is reported to have said on the Ellen Show that she contracted breast cancer from drinking such water.

Well, no matter how often this claim is repeated, it doesn't get any truer. Chemically, PE bottles cannot possibly create dioxin, because there is no way polyethylene combined with heat and fat can result in dioxin. And freezing water in a plastic bottle will not release harmful chemicals into the water, quite the opposite.

Please take the time to download the magazine (for free) published by the American Council on Science and Health in this link: http://www.acsh.org/news/newsID.1669/news_detail.asp
You will see that it was first published on 14th January 2008 (!)

Here's the comment by Dr. Michael Kamrin:
"While it is true that some chemicals may leach out of plastics in very tiny amounts, these chemicals have been carefully studied and do not cause cancer even when animals are exposed to them in very large amounts. This conclusion is supported by scientists around the world and is reflected in the confidence that regulatory agencies have in the safety of using plastics in containers and wraps for food and drink. — Dr. Kamrin"

If you feel the American Council on Science and Health may be infiltrated by the food or plastics industry, or that testing methods just aren't good enough yet, see what Snopes.com has to say on the same subject. This is an excellent source of all kinds of knowledge, usually great debunkers of urban myths: http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/cookplastic.asp
Incidentally, this link will tell you the long and sorry history of this particular urban myth. Have fun!

The long and the short of this all is: there are indeed different kinds of plastic; don't use the wrong kind for the wrong purpose. In other words, it may be wise not to drink water from a plastic bottle that has been rolling around and lying around in a car left to "cook" in the hot sun for hours, not least because the water will taste horrible.