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43 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, January 27, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Opportunities Moving to Southern Oregon? MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend May 26, 2004 Since you asked Reusing plastic water bottles won’t leach toxins My daughter said she heard on the "news" that light-weight plastic water bottles such as the 16-oz. ones used for spring water should not be reused. She remembers something about oxygen in tap water being able to leach out chemicals from the plastic. If this is a health problem, why are there no warnings on the labels? — Ed D., Medford Has your daughter been spending a lot of time surfing the Internet lately, Ed? The "carcinogenic" water bottle story is another one of those urban legends that surfaces periodically, and the World Wide Web unfortunately helps keep it alive. According to the International Bottled Water Association, the basis for this tale comes from a college student’s research project. His work was not reviewed by a panel of experts. "Peer review" is the cornerstone of scientific research. Advertisement Water bottles are made from a plastic known as PET — polyethylene terephthalate — which is also used to package a number of other food and beverage products. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has determined that PET is safe for bottled water, beverages and foods. It’s true that most bottled-water manufacturers recommend not reusing water bottles, but not out of any fear that carcinogenic chemicals will leach out of the plastic. They’re more worried that people will spread bacteria by reusing bottles without washing them or allowing them sufficient time to dry. Send questions to "Since You Asked," Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541-776-4376; or by e-mail to [email protected] . We’re sorry, but the volume of questions received prevents us from answering all of them. Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers