Many are unaware of poisoning caused by reusing plastic bottles. It happened when a 12 year old girl died after a long usage (16 months) of a 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, 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 on water bottles that are really meant for multiple uses.
How to avoid:
Check on the bottom of the bottle there is a triangle sign and there will be a number on it. If the number is higher than or equal to 5 --> then this bottle is safe to use.
Whatever number under 5 will release the chemical. For most bottle water, the number is 1.
Remember to check and stop reuses those bottles
![[del.icio.us]](http://images.del.icio.us/static/img/delicious.small.gif){kind=small}
