Bottle Water vs Extreme Temperature Scifair Projects

Chemical Stability

Chemical stability is something that you want in a beverage, particularly in a bottled water. However, extreme heat can lead to chemcial instability in hydrogen and oxygen.

EDU-36820 C2D Discovery Planet Digital Microscope	Young Scientists Club Set 2	Discovery Planet EDU-41021 Maxscope Videoscope	Student, HomeSchool & Adult Microscopes
Ages 8 and up	Ages 5 - 8	Ages 10 and up	Age 10 thru College

Objectives/Goals

The goal of my project is to test the safety of bottled water when exposed to extreme temperature over time. My objectives are:
1. To examine the media reports concerning the harmful effects of phthalates.
2. To evaluate the public's drinking and water storage habits.

Methods/Materials

Method 525.2 providing procedures for determining organic compounds in drinking water was used. Materials used included water samples, chemicals, safety equipment, glass vials, high performance extraction disks, equipment apparatus and miscellaneous items essential for the process.

Results

At the Reportable Detection Limit, no phthalates were detected in any of the five samples of bottled water.

Conclusions/Discussion

My study showed that bottled water when exposed to extreme temperatures is generally free from phthalates and therefore, is safe to drink for up to a period of at least fifteen weeks. Phthalates have frequently been the subject of misinformation and misleading media reports. That is why science is such a powerful tool. It gives us a chance to objectively test ideas and information we hear in the news against the evidence we observe. It allows us to base our decisions about what is safe to eat or drink on facts instead of media hype and mass hysteria. My experiment had some limitations including small sample size that affected the design of my experiment, limiting exposure times, length of study and one brand of bottled water. 3rd party contributor