15 Aug 2026
Does water from a sun-heated plastic bottle cause cancer? A specialist responds
A department head at the Center, Olim Imomov, comments on widely shared social-media claims that water left in plastic bottles under the sun can be harmful and cause cancer, and on what current research suggests.
Reports circulating on social media claim that water left in plastic bottles in direct sunlight may be harmful to health and could even contribute to cancer. The concern centres on whether heat causes harmful substances to pass from the plastic into the water.
Recent research has drawn renewed attention to these questions and prompted public discussion about how well founded such claims are.
To address them, the Center turned to Olim Imomov, head of department at the Republican Specialized Scientific-Practical Medical Center of Oncology and Radiology, who commented on the issue.