A cool drink of water from a plastic bottle may not be as safe as it seems, according to research results released yesterday that showed that the container may be adding dangerous chemicals to the water.

Filipos Kirkitsou, president of the Ecological Recycling Society, said data show that the water retains dangerous chemical substances from the plastic.

The procedure speeds up if the water bottle has been left in the sun or has been stored for a long time, he added.

“We know how dangerous PVC plastic is. New research shows that chemical substances also pass from PET plastic to its contents,” Kirkitsou told Kathimerini.

According to recent research, traces of acetone were among the chemicals that had affected the water while bottles exposed to the sun showed traces of carcinogenic and neurotoxic substances.