Common Things That Aren't Actually Carcinogens

X-Rays

Because imaging tests utilize ionizing radiation to take a picture of a patient's bones or organs, many believe they cause cancer. While radiation is, most definitely, a carcinogen, x-rays themselves, as used in imaging tests, do not necessarily cause cancer. Radiation exists naturally in the world every day. In fact, individuals interact with radiation daily. However, because it is at low doses, it doesn't harm individuals in the same way an atomic bomb would. In that case, the radiation levels are intense.

X-rays and naturally occurring radiation have a smaller amount of radiation used during a small interval. As such, the amount patients receive during an x-ray is not enough to develop cancer. However, the more individuals require an imaging test at a given time, the likelier their chances are of developing cancer. Again, this is because of consistent exposure to high amounts of radiation in an interval.

Plastic Water Bottles

Most individuals have probably heard claims that plastic water bottles left in certain environments can cause the water inside them to increase an individual's risk of developing cancer if they consume it. This is a claim based on chemicals in the plastic leaking into the bottle contents. These claims point to the substances in the plastic called Bisphenol A (BPA) and dioxins. Allegations state extreme changes in temperature, reuse, and freezing of fluids in these bottles can allow the plastic to become porous enough to leak these substances into the contained fluid inside of them. It is a true claim that chemicals from the containers food is stored in can enter the food. However, the misconception involves just how much of these substances end up in foods and drinks, and exactly how much of these substances are deemed unsafe.

Only a certain amount of such chemicals are allowed to be in the plastics used to make single-use water bottles. Only a small fraction of these substances can leak into the bottle contents when exposed to extreme temperatures. Additionally, research has proven the levels of these substances it takes to deem the contents unsafe are at minimum three times the amount permitted to be in the plastic initially used to produce the water bottles.