After receiving multiple e-mail chains denouncing drinking water from a plastic bottle that’s been overheated in the car or frozen because the processes releases cancer-causing dioxins into the water, I started snooping around to see if there was any substance behind the statement.

Here’s what I discovered with a little web browsing:

According to a spokesperson from Johns Hopkins University, who dispels the rumor that the e-mail chain was based on information from his medical community:

* There is no connection between cancer-causing dioxins and bottled water because there are no dioxins in plastics.

* While heating plastic may not cause it to release dioxins, it can result in the release of other potentially harmful chemicals. This is not only true for plastic water bottles, but also plastics heated in the microwave, plastic baby bottles heated in water, and even pacifiers heated in a baby’s mouth. (If you’re a mom, do some research; there’s a lot of information out there about the safest choices.)

* Freezing plastic impedes the release of chemicals, which means the frozen water bottle myth is a lot of hooey.

* Bottled water is not regulated in the same way tap water is. Drinking tap may be safer for you, and it will cut down on your contribution to plastic waste.

If you want to know more about why bottled water is neither cleaner nor greener than tap water, check out this article by Environmental Magazine. The site also has an astounding array of articles about stuff I obsess on all the time, like whether my lawn fertilizer is a biohazard to my baby, and environmentally PC parenting. Be prepared to fork over $15 bucks for a year’s subscription if you want to access their archived articles. It’s worth the expense.

Erika Lenkert

Technorati Tags: health, water, toxins, bottled water, plastic, cancer, green

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