Investigating the effects of elevated temperature and storage duration on release of phthalates and antimony from drinking water bottles

People living in hot and humid climatic condition need to drink enough water in order to keep the required water balance in the body. The quick and convenient supply of this drinking water resource option is the bottled water, it is easy to carry on the move and proven source of clean water. In the Arabian Gulf countries, the use of bottled water is the major drinking water source by many who are out for the work, commuting or on travel. However, the practice of storage and consumption of bottled water is a public health concern due to various factors related to storage conditions, particularly time and exposure to heat. Very recently, the Muscat municipality starts campaign through billboards across the city to create public awareness on the issue. The polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is predominantly used for bottling water, food or beverage. The contamination might happen due to many factors that affect primarily the PET degradation which releases substances into the water. As it is common to leave the water bottles in vehicles, the temperature and storage time are critical that might influence the release of this suspected compounds especially in the summer. The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of storage temperature and duration on release of both antimony (Sb) and organic contaminants (phthalates) from PET water bottles. Several brands of commercially available water bottle will be assessed in Oman. The concentration of Sb will be determined by ICP-OES and phthalates will be determined by either GC/MS by electron impact ionization mode (EI) with selective ion monitoring (SIM) or LC/MS by electron spray ionization with selective ion monitoring acquisition method. The main agenda of the work is in no way to investigate the brands but to understand the effect of elevated temperature and storage time on any possible release of the contaminants into the water. The outcome of this work is primarily intended to give useful advisory to change user?s behavior from practices that may contribute to the release of such contaminants, thereby preventing any long-term public health concern.