VERIFY:Is it safe to drink bottled water left in hot cars?.
Grabbing a bottle of water as you head out of the door is something many of us do.
Lauren Swasta, who is a senior at University of Texas Tyler, said she stopped drinking from water bottles left in hot cars years ago.
"People always say it’s unsafe and I’m like, ‘What do you mean it’s unsafe,’ and they’re like, ‘It can cause cancer and I’m like, ‘Okay that’s pretty solid nobody wants to mess with cancer.’" She has heard of the danger that comes from chemical components in the plastic.
"Everyone that has told me that before, they say plastic sits in the heat for so long that it can let go of chemicals," Swasta said.
She is not alone in her thinking so we set out to verify if bottled water left in the heat is dangerous to drink.
We turned to Dr. Lance Williams, Professor of Biology at the University of Texas at Tyler.
"They left bottles of water at 158 degrees Fahrenheit for several weeks,” Williams said.
BPA is a chemical is often used to make certain plastics and according to the Mayo Clinic it is not harmful in small doses.
The larger risk comes when people drink from a bottle, leave it in a hot car and then drink it again, Williams said.