Don't Drink Bottled Water Left in Warm Temperatures for a Long time!

A team of researchers at the University of Florida warns Americans to avoid drinking bottled water that has been left in warm temperature for a long time.

Plastic water bottles are made from polyethylene terephthalate; when this material gets heated, it releases chemicals antimony and bisphenol A - commonly known as BPA. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization, antimony is a carcinogen.

In this study, the researchers based their finding on the study of bottled water in China. Even though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration claims that low level of BPA in beverage containers is not a major concern, but it continues to look at the chemical's impact. Most of the health officials said that the chemical triggers negative effects on the health of the children.

Led by Lena Ma, the current study looked at chemicals released in 16 brands of bottled water that was kept at 158 degrees Fahrenheit for almost four weeks. It was observed that out of 16 brands, just one crossed the EPA standard for antimony and BPA. The researchers found that storing at warm temperature was not a major problem, but further study is needed to verify if other brands are safe. The study reveals that the levels of BPA and antimony increased after the bottles were warmed for over a four-week period.

"If you store the water long enough, there may be a concern," said Ma, an Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences faculty member who has a research program at Nanjing University in China. "More attention should be given to other drinks packaged with polyethylene terephthalate plastic, such as milk, coffee and acidic juice. We only tested the pure water. If it is acidic juice, the story may be different."

The study is published in the journal Environmental Pollution.