Drinking water from plastic bottles stored in high temperatures for long periods of time is not that harmful to humans, research showed Monday, dismissing worries over the safety of bottled water especially ahead of summer.
The concentration of such chemicals as formaldehyde and acetaldehyde, used as sterilizers or preservatives, was found to increase in bottled water that was kept at 50 degrees Celsius for 120 days or longer, but only by minimal amounts, according to the research by the state-run National Institute of Environmental Research.
"The concentration level rose, but it was still far below the recommended limit of 500 parts per billion (ppb)," Lee Jun-bae, who led the research, told Yonhap News Agency by phone.
The results came after an experiment of seven domestic and two foreign brands of bottled water to test the safety of water in various containers, storing conditions and durations.
The research also showed that under similar storage conditions or temperatures, the chemicals' concentration levels rose even less in water kept in glass bottles.
About 3.35 million tons of domestically produced bottled water was sold in South Korea last year, amounting to about 340 billion won (US$312 million) in sales, according to data from the Ministry of Environment. (Yonhap)