Some
of you may be in the habit of using and re-using your disposable
mineral water bottles (e.g. Nestle, Bisleri, Aquafina, Kinley,
Evian,etc...), keeping them in your car or at work. Not a good idea. It
happened in Dubai, when a 12 year old girl died after a long usage (16
months) of SAFA mineral water bottle, as she used to carry the same
fancy (painted by herself) bottle to her school daily.

In a nutshell, the plastic (called polyethylene terephthalate or
PET) used in these bottles contains a potentially carcinogenic
element(something called diethylhydroxylamine or DEHA). The bottles are
safe for one-time use only; if you must keep them longer, it should be
or no more than a few days, a week max, and keep them away from heat as
well. Repeated washing and rinsing can cause the plastic to break down
and the carcinogens (cancer-causing chemical agents) can leak into the
water that YOU are drinking.

Better to invest in water bottles that are really meant for multiple uses.

a potentially deadly toxin called antimony, used in making plastic
bottles, leaked into water the way water absorbs flavour from teabags.
“The longer the water is stored, the higher the level of poison,” says
the research, putting a big question mark over the use of Polyethylene
Terephthalate (PET) bottles for mineral water and beverages globally.

the amount of antimony in bottled water is usually well below the
officially dangerous level, it was discovered that it doubled when the
bottles were stored for three months.

According to scientists, all exposure to antimony contributes to
overall lifetime risk of developing cancer. No exact antimony ratio
that could harm human health has been determined so far, but a high
dose can cause vomiting and continuous exposure can lead to cancer.

bottle industry experts said 75 percent of the city’s tap water was
contaminated and all citizens who could afford to shift to drinking
bottled mineral water had done so already. They said they did not know
about presence of toxic material in bottled water but recommended
urgent action by authorities in that case.