MELINDA WENNER MOYER2025年8月1日Q: If I leave a plastic water bottle in my car for a few days, is it safe to drink the water when I come back?问：如果我把塑料水瓶留在车里几天，回来后里面的水还能安全饮用吗？It’s important to stay hydrated in the heat, but high temperatures and UV rays can influence what goes on in single-use plastic water bottles — especially when they have been sitting in cars, where windows can trap extra heat.在炎热天气里补水很重要，但高温和紫外线会影响一次性塑料水瓶内的物质变化——尤其是当水瓶放在车里时，车窗会导致更多热量聚积，情况会更严重。Scientists warn that chemical additives and microplastics could leach into the water, and that bacteria or mold could grow in the bottle.科学家警告，化学添加剂和微塑料可能会析入水中，瓶内还可能滋生细菌或霉菌。Does that make the water unsafe to drink? We asked experts to help us sort it out.这是否意味着水就不能安全饮用了？我们请专家来对此做出了解答。Microbes in the Water水中的微生物One potential concern is that if you’ve already opened a plastic bottle and have consumed water from it, bacteria from your mouth, your hands or the air can get in and multiply, said Jaime Ross, a neuroscientist at the University of Rhode Island who studies how exposures to microplastics and other substances affect the body.专门研究微塑料和其他物质接触对人体影响的罗德岛大学神经科学家杰米·罗斯说，一个潜在的问题是，如果已经打开了塑料瓶并喝了里面的水，口腔、手部或空气中的细菌可能会进入瓶内并大量繁殖。Beizhan Yan, a geochemist who researches environmental contamination at Columbia University, said he wasn’t aware of any studies that have looked into exactly what happens if you leave a plastic water bottle in a hot car. But scientists can make inferences from relevant research.哥伦比亚大学研究环境污染的地球化学家严北詹（音）表示，他不清楚是否有专门探讨将塑料水瓶留在高温车里带来影响的研究，但科学家可以从相关研究中进行推断。In one peer-reviewed study published in 2013, for instance, researchers analyzed which microbes grew in various partly consumed beverages — including plastic bottled sodas, teas, juices, sports drinks and water — left at 77 degrees for two weeks. They found that bacteria, mold and yeast grew in many of them.例如，2013年发表的一项同行评审研究中，研究人员分析了部分饮用过的各种饮料（包括塑料瓶装的汽水、茶、果汁、运动饮料和水）在25摄氏度下放置两周后滋生的微生物。他们发现，其中许多饮料中都滋生了细菌、霉菌和酵母菌。The insides of cars often become hotter than the outside air, creating the perfect environment for microbes to grow quickly — perhaps within a couple of hours, Dr. Ross said. Another study from 2005 concluded that bacteria grew in water bottles at room temperature within 48 hours of just one sip.罗斯说，车内温度通常比室外高，这为微生物快速生长创造了理想环境——可能只需几个小时就会滋生。2005年的另一项研究得出结论，在室温下，只喝了一口的水瓶在48小时内就会滋生细菌。Because there is so little research on the topic, we don’t know if the microbes that grow in water bottles might also go on to cause illness, but they could, Dr. Ross said. The bacteria found in the 2005 study included Staphylococcus aureus, a common cause of food-borne illness. Though that bacteria can come from people’s bodies or mouths, Dr. Ross said, it’s possible that in high enough doses, after multiplying in the bottle, they could still cause illness. It “would be something I would be very concerned about,” she said.罗斯说，由于该领域研究很少，我们不知道水瓶中滋生的微生物是否会导致疾病，但这种可能是存在的。2005年的研究中发现的细菌包括金黄色葡萄球菌，这是导致食源性疾病的常见原因。她说，尽管这种细菌可能来自人体或口腔，但如果在瓶内大量繁殖，量足够高的话，仍有可能引发疾病。她表示，这“会是我非常担心的问题”。Chemical Contaminants化学污染物Many single-use plastic water bottles are made from a form of plastic called polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, said Nicole Deziel, an environmental epidemiologist at the Yale School of Public Health.耶鲁大学公共卫生学院的环境流行病学家妮可·德齐尔说，许多一次性塑料水瓶是由一种名为聚对苯二甲酸乙二醇酯(PET)的塑料制成。When PET-containing bottles sit in the heat or in sunlight, they can release various kinds of chemicals, including phenols like bisphenol A, or BPA, and phthalates, she said.她说，当含PET的瓶子处于高温或阳光下时，会释放出多种化学物质，包括双酚A(BPA)等酚类物质和邻苯二甲酸盐。“Phenols and phthalates are endocrine disruptors, meaning they interfere with the natural hormones in our body,” she explained.“酚类和邻苯二甲酸盐是内分泌干扰物，这意味着它们会干扰我们体内的天然激素，”她解释说。The Food and Drug Administration says that the current use of BPA and certain phthalates in food packaging is safe. But some experts have disagreed, citing studies that have linked exposures to the chemicals early in life to chronic health conditions like allergies, asthma and Type 2 diabetes.美国食品和药物管理局表示，目前在食品包装中使用BPA和某些邻苯二甲酸盐是安全的。但一些专家对此表示反对，他们引用的研究表明，生命早期阶段接触这些化学物质，与过敏、哮喘和2型糖尿病等慢性健康状况有关。Dr. Deziel did, however, debunk past claims on social media that heated plastic water bottles release cancer-causing chemicals called dioxins. They do not, she said.不过，德齐尔驳斥了社交媒体上关于加热塑料水瓶会释放致癌化学物质二噁英的旧说法。她说，事实并非如此。Microplastics, Too还有微塑料Water stored in plastic water bottles often contains tiny bits of plastic known as microplastics. A 2018 study analyzed water from plastic water bottles purchased in nine countries and found plastic fragments in 93 percent of them.储存在塑料水瓶中的水通常含有被称为“微塑料”的微小塑料颗粒。2018年的一项研究分析了在九个国家购买的塑料瓶装水中的水，发现93%的水样中含有塑料碎片。The heat of a car, along with UV light coming through side or rear car windows, most likely accelerates their release, Dr. Yan said. UV light has been shown to break down plastic polymers into smaller fragments, which “very likely” might then leach into the water, he said.严北詹说，汽车内的热量以及从侧窗或后窗进入的紫外线很可能会加速微塑料的释放。他说，有证据表明紫外线会将塑料聚合物分解成更小的碎片，这些碎片“很可能”会析入水中。It’s unclear what these microplastics might do to our bodies. But they do seem to stick around: When researchers analyzed the tissues of recently deceased humans in a 2025 study, they found that microplastics had accumulated in their kidneys, livers and brains.目前还不清楚这些微塑料会对我们的身体造成什么影响。但它们似乎会在体内留存：2025年的一项研究中，研究人员分析了刚死亡不久的人体组织，发现肾脏、肝脏和大脑中都积累了微塑料。How to Drink More Safely如何更安全地饮水Experts don’t know for sure what will happen if you leave a single-use plastic water bottle in a hot car and then drink from it. But given the potential for contamination, Dr. Ross said, doing so is “not a good idea.”如果把一次性塑料水瓶留在高温的车里，之后再饮用里面的水会发生什么，对此专家们并不确定。但罗斯说，考虑到潜在的污染风险，这样做“不是个好主意”。Dr. Deziel and other researchers recommended that when you’re on the go, store water in stainless steel or glass bottles instead of plastic ones. And while reusable water bottles made from harder plastics, like polypropylene or a different form of PET, are less likely to break down and release plastics or other chemicals when exposed to heat or sunlight, Dr. Deziel said, “they’re still plastic, and over time, wear and heat can degrade them, too.”德齐尔和其他研究人员建议，外出时，最好将水储存在不锈钢或玻璃容器中，而不是塑料容器。德齐尔说，虽然由较硬塑料（如聚丙烯或另一种PET）制成的可重复使用水瓶在受热或阳光照射时，分解并释放塑料或其他化学物质的可能性较小，但“它们仍然是塑料，随着时间的推移，磨损和高温也会导致它们降解”。To avoid bacteria and mold, it’s probably best to throw away partly drunk water that’s been left in the heat, no matter the container it’s in, Dr. Ross said.罗斯说，为了避免细菌和霉菌，无论容器类型如何，若饮用水在高温下放置且未喝完，最好将其丢弃。“If you’re unsure,” she said, “don’t drink it.”“如果你不确定，”她说，“那就不要喝。”点击查看本文英文版。获取更多RSS：https://feedx.net https://feedx.site