This article explains that bottle water can cause cancer. According to this article leaving bottle water in hot vehicles causes the bottles to release carcinogenic substances. The author of this article is highly critical of this causation. He argues that this argument is based on a research paper presented by a student from the University of the Idaho. Ed Zimney, the author of this article, explains that the results used in this research were unsubstantiated. He adds that this research is based on assumption that has been extrapolated by the media to cause a stir within the public about the issue (Zimney, 2012, p.2). According to Zimney this causation does not hold because they haven’t been based on case to case experiment. This means that the research is not based on quantitative data whose patterns and trends can be observed over time. Zimney debunks the central colonnades used in this research arguing that the student arrived to the conclusion that hot bottled water is carcinogenic after identifying the substance DHEA in his sample.
According to Zimney DHEA had initially been thought by many scientists as being carcinogenic, but after thorough research DHEA was determined as not being a carcinogen. DHEA has been used by many bottled water companies as a preservative. Since the research of the Idaho student was based on the argument that DHEA is carcinogenic, the research is factually incorrect (Stinchfield, 2012, p.2). It is evident from this article that the media has a great impact in bringing out causation in many incidences. The media does not take time to weigh the arguments that are used to back a certain claim. This attitude has been instrumental in creating causational beliefs that have been adopted by the general public regarding certain issues. It is worth noting that issues such as cancer resonate highly with the general public. Considering the great trust that the general public places on the media, it is difficult for the members of the public to discern whether the claims that are aired by the media are based on correlation or are mere unsubstantiated causations.
In the case of this research, the allegation that bottled water causes cancer has been debunked by various researchers whose research has been based on quantitative data. For example, William Shotyk of the American Chemical Society, in her article Bottled water argues that the idea that bottled water is carcinogenic is a myth. Many scientists and scholars have tried to instill fear in the general public so as that their articles can gain more attention in the world of publications that is characterized by stiff competition. Shotyk explains that there is no correlation between cancer and bottled water. She argues that the idea that has been used to create causation between cancer and bottled water is that the substance
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is carcinogenic (Shotyk, 2007, p.1).However, research has indicated that this substance has not only been used in the preservation of water but has also been used in the preservation of other foods. The myth has been rendered redundant by case to case laboratory researches that have established that the idea that PET is carcinogenic is only a myth that cannot be substantiated. Like Zimney, Shotyk is critical of the media due to its growing trend of extrapolating social issues that resonate within the general public. Therefore, it is clear that in many cases causational relationships that are created by the media are mere rumors that cannot be empirically supported, but are based on normative statements that are not value-free.
References
Shotyk, W. (2007). Contamination of Bottled Waters with Antimony Leaching from Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Increases upon Storage - Environmental Science & Technology (ACS Publications) . Environmental Science & Technology. Retrieved February 11, 2013, from http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es061511%2B
Stinchfield, K. (2012). Articles about Bottled Water - CNN. Featured Articles from CNN. Retrieved February 11, 2013, from http://articles.cnn.com/keyword/bottled-water
Zimney, E. (2012). Plastic water bottles, hot cars and breast cancer: What you need to know about PET and BPA - Health and Medical News You can Use. Health Information, Resources, Tools & News Online - EverydayHealth.com. Retrieved February 11, 2013, from http://www.everydayhealth.com/blog/zimney-health-and-medical-news-you-can-use/plastic-water-bottles-hot-cars-and-breast-cancer-what-you-need-to-know-about-pet-and-bpa/
