HOT PLASTIC –
August 25, 2025 – Experts are warning to be wary of leaving plastic water bottles in your cars during the sweltering summer months. While it is critical to stay hydrated during the summer heat, it is best to avoid water that has been left sitting in a warm car. Once temperatures start to climb high enough, plastic particles can begin to break down, making them easier to ingest. “The crucial temperature that that starts to happen in is around 140 to 170°F, which is very normal to get to inside of a hot car in the summertime. It’s at that point that it starts to become more likely that you’re going to pull particles or chemicals into your water.”
Tuten compared the plastic used to produce water bottles to strands of spaghetti. Although pasta is difficult to separate when cold, as it gets warmer, it can come apart much more easily, just like plastic particles.
Unfortunately, microplastics, which are plastic particles smaller than 5 millimeters in size, are increasingly being shown to drive a number of adverse health effects. One study showed that exposure to the particles from drinking from plastic bottles may increase blood pressure as they enter the bloodstream.
The Dallas Express recently reported on a study that found indoor air is inundated with thousands of microplastics small enough to penetrate deep into the lungs. The study concluded that adults may be inhaling around 68,000 microplastic particles of one to 10 micrometers per day, or 100 times higher than expected.
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