RESEARCH ARTICLE Effects of storage temperature and time of antimony release from PET bottles into drinking water in China Fei Qiao 1 & Kun Lei 1 & Zicheng Li 1 & Qing Liu 1 & Zhanliang Wei 1 & Lihui An 1 & Hongli Qi 2 & Song Cui 3 Received: 15 August 2017 /Accepted: 24 October 2017 # Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany 2017 Abstract Antimony (Sb) concentrations were measured in 10 brands of PET bottled drinking water available in supermar- kets in China. To simulate general storage habits based on market research, these PET bottles with drinking water were stored for 4 weeks in a lab or a car trunk during the summer. Although the PET package material of brand A had the lowest Sb level (142.71 ± 29.81 μg/g), it showed a significant in- crease in Sb concentrations when stored in both the car trunk and the lab. There was significant release of Sb from the PET bottles into the water following 24 h of incubation at ≥ 40 °C (40, 50, 60, and 70 °C), especially at 70 °C. The potential health risk of Sb release from PET bottles was calculated based on daily intake values and determined to be acceptable for consumers under normal storage conditions. Keywords Drinking water . PET bottles . Antimony . Storage conditions . Tolerable daily intake . Risk Introduction Bottled drinking water has become increasingly popular among consumers because it is convenient, safe, and inexpen- sive, especially for travelers and sports athletes. Transparency Market Research forecasts that the global bottled water market will grow at a 6.6% compound annual growth rate from 2016 to 2024 ( http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ bottled-water-market.html) (Bach et al. 2012), and previous epidemiological research has shown a significant link between diseases and trace contaminants in bottled water (Soupioni et al. 2006; Ahmad and Bajahlan 2009). Antimony (Sb) is the most common catalyst for the synthesis of PET (EU 2008) and has been detected in different brands of PET bottles at levels of ~ 200 mg/kg (Nishioka et al. 2002; Keresztes et al. 2009; Welle and Franz 2011), indicating that Sb may be released from PET bottles into drinking water. More than 130 brands of PET bottled water from 28 countries have shown detectable levels of Sb in the water (Shotyk and Krachler 2007). The leaching ratio of Sb from PET bottles into water depends on the storage time, temperature, pH of the water, and bottle color (Shotyk and Krachler 2007; Westerhoff et al. 2008; Cheng et al. 2010; Fan et al. 2014). Several earlier studies confirmed the presence of Sb in PET bottled water. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA 2012) and the Council of the European Communities consider Sb and its compounds to be serious contaminants (European Union Council 1998). Additionally, the International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified Sb as possibly carcinogenic to humans. Limits or guideline values for Sb in drinking water have been developed to mitigate potential health risks: 2 μg/L in Japan (2003), 5 μg/L in China (2006) and the European Union (2003), and 6 μg/L in the USEPA (2009) and Canada (2008). The World Health Organization has set a limit of 20 μg/L (2003). Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues * Lihui An anlhui@163.com 1 State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, No. 8, Da-Yang-Fang, An-Wai-Bei-Yuan Rd., Chao-yang District, Beijing 100012, China 2 Tianjin Key Laboratory of Aqua-Ecology and Aquaculture, College of Fisheries, Tianjin Agricultural University, Tianjin 300384, China 3 School of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China Environ Sci Pollut Res https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-0598-6