Click on the logo go to
our home page to see all of our products designed to remove chlorine (and more)
from your drinking water!
9am-5pm Eastern,
Mon-Fri
Health Effects of Chlorine in Drinking Water
(quotes from various sources)
The
U.S. General Accounting Office reports that there are serious deficiencies in
water treatment plants in 75% of the states. More than 120 million people
(about 50% of the population) may get unsafe water according to a study
conducted by the Natural Resources Defense Council.
U.S.
Health Officials estimate 900,000 people each year become ill - and possibly
900 die - from waterborne disease. The General Accounting Office estimates 66%
of Safe Drinking Water Act violations aren’t reported.
The
contamination of water is directly related to the degree of contamination of
our environment. Rainwater flushes airborne pollution from the skies, and then
washes over the land before running into the, rivers, aquifers, and lakes that
supply our drinking water. Any and all chemicals generated by human activity
can and will find their way into water supplies.
The
chemical element chlorine is a corrosive, poisonous, greenish-yellow gas that
has a suffocating odor and is 2 1/2 times heavier than air. Chlorine belongs to
the group of elements called halogens. The halogens combine with metals to form
compounds called halides. Chlorine is manufactured commercially by running an
electric current through salt water. This process produces free chlorine,
hydrogen, and sodium hydroxide. Chlorine is changed to its liquid form by
compressing the gas, the resulting liquid is then shipped. Liquid chlorine is
mixed into drinking water and swimming pools to destroy bacteria.
Until
recently, concerns about drinking water focused on eliminating pathogens. The
chlorine used to reduce the risk of infectious disease may account for a
substantial portion of the cancer risk associated with drinking water.
Chlorination of drinking water was a major factor in the reduction in the
mortality rates associated with waterborne pathogen. The use of chlorine was
believed to be safe. This view is evident in an article, which appeared on the
back page of the New York Times. The report stated that with the use of
chlorine, "Any municipal water supply can be made as pure as mountain spring
water. Chlorination destroys all animal and microbial life, leaving no trace of
itself afterwards". This statement reflected opinion accepted until recent
years when halogenated organic compounds, such as chloroform, were identified
in chlorinated drinking water supplies. Recent surveys show that these
compounds are common in water supplies throughout the
These
concerns about cancer risks associated with chemical contamination from
chlorination by-products have resulted in numerous epidemiological studies.
These studies generally support the notion that by-products of chlorination are
associated with increased cancer risks.
Chlorine
is used to combat microbial contamination, but it can react with organic matter
in the water and form dangerous, carcinogenic Trihalomethanes. According to Dr.
Joseph M. Price, MD, in Moseby's Medical Dictionary, "Chlorine is the
greatest crippler and killer of modern times. It is an insidious poison".
In a
1992 study that made front-page headlines, and was reported on in the July
issue of the American Journal of Public Health researchers at the Medical
College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee found that people who regularly drink tap
water containing high levels of chlorine by-products have a greater risk of
developing bladder and rectal cancers than people who drink unchlorinated
water. The study estimates that about 9 percent of all bladder cancer and 18
percent of all rectal cancer cases are associated with long-term consumption of
these by-products. This amounts to over 20,000 new cases each year.
see all of our products designed to
remove chlorine (and more) from your drinking water!
Morris,
with epidemiologist Thomas C. Chalmers and his colleagues at Harvard, used a
new technique called meta-analysis to combine the results from the 10 best
studies, yielding the new findings. They report that people drinking
chlorinated water over long periods have a 21% increase in the risk of
contracting bladder cancer and a 38% increase in the risk of rectal cancer.
"I am quite convinced, based on this study, that there is an association
between cancer and chlorinated water.", says Robert D. Morris of the
Medical College of Wisconsin in
directed
the new study.
About
90% of the population is drinking water which may contain hundreds of these Disinfection
By-products (DBPs), also known as Trihalomethanes. The Environmental Protection
Agency lowered the Maximum Contaminant Level for Disinfection By-products but
it will be years before the new standard goes into effect.
In his
book, Coronaries/Cholesterol/Chlorine, Joseph M. Price, MD presents startling
evidence that Trihalomethanes, are the "prime causative agents of
arteriosclerosis and its inevitable result, the heart attack or stroke."
These Trihalomethanes are created when the chlorine that is added to the
municipal water supply reacts with organic matter such as leaves, twigs, or
chemicals from agricultural runoff.
Here's
What The Experts Have To Say:
"The
drinking of chlorinated water has finally been officially linked to an
increased incidence of colon cancer. An epidemiologist at Oak Ridge Associated
Universities completed a study of colon cancer victims and non-cancer patients
and concluded that the drinking of chlorinated water for 15 years or more was
conducive to a high rate of colon cancer."
Health Freedom News,
January/February 1987
"Long-term
drinking of chlorinated water appears to increase a person's risk of developing
bladder cancer as much as 80%," according to a study published in the
Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Some 45,000 Americans are diagnosed
every year with bladder cancer.
"Although
concentrations of these carcinogens are low...it is precisely these low levels
which cancer scientists believe are responsible for the majority of human
cancers in the
"Chlorine
itself is not believed to be the problem. Scientists suspect that the actual
cause of the bladder cancers is a group of chemicals that form as result of
reactions between the chlorine and natural substances and pollutants in the
water." (organic matter such as leaves and twigs.)
Greenpeace
reports have found chlorine-based compounds to be the most common toxic and
persistent pollutants in the
see all of our products designed to
remove chlorine (and more) from your drinking water!
Summary
and Prevention Strategies
In its
proposal for revamping the Clean Water Act, the Environmental Protection Agency
has recommended examining chlorine's impact on health and the environment (SN:
1/22/94, p.59). The agency's proposed $2 million, one-year chlorine study would
look at the effects of the use of chlorine and chlorine compounds in the
manufacture of paper, solvents, and plastics and in disinfecting waste water and
drinking water, says EPA' James F. Pendergast.
Contaminants
may enter water supplies at many points before reaching the tap. The
carcinogens in drinking water at the point of use may result from contamination
of source water, arise from the treatment processes, or enter as the water is
transported to the consumer. Varied carcinogens may contaminate the source
water, but they usually exist in drinking water at low concentrations. However,
chemicals that enter drinking water during water treatment are limited in
number,
but
appear in drinking water supplies with greater frequency than most source
water
contaminants.
Under
conditions of average temperature, humidity, and activity, the human body loses
and, therefore, must replace about 2.3 liters of water each day. Two-thirds of
this consumption is in the form of water or some other beverage. Concerns about
the health risks or taste of drinking water may cause those who consume tap
water to shift to bottled water, or other beverages. These beverages may
include sweetened soft drinks and alcoholic beverages, which can pose health
risks greater than those associated with drinking water.
To stop
chlorination of drinking water to eliminate the elevated cancer risks from
chlorination by-products would be foolhardy. Nonetheless, the data provide
strong evidence to support expanded efforts in research and development of
alternatives to chlorination for the disinfection of drinking water.
Chlorination is particularly effective in preventing recontamination during
distribution. Alternatives must provide a similar level of protection. Perhaps
the most viable alternative is point of use water treatment units.
The
weight of the evidence suggests that chlorination by-products pose substantial
cancer risks that should be reduced.
see all of our products designed to
remove chlorine (and more) from your drinking water!
Dr. Herbert Schwartz of Cumberland County College in Vineman, N.J. says: "Chlorine has so many dangers it should be banned. Putting chlorine in the water supply is like starting a time bomb. Cancer, heart trouble, premature senility, both mental and physical, are conditions attributable to chlorine treated water supplies. It is making us grow old before our time by producing symptoms of aging such as hardening of the arteries."
Chlorine
has been hailed as the saviour against cholera and various other water-borne
diseases; and rightfully so. Its disinfectant qualities and economy of
production have allowed communities and whole cities to grow and prosper by
providing disease-free tap water to homes and industry. Some people have
grown-up on tap water, and believe the taste of chlorine signifies purity and
safety. Well, not necessarily so.
Chlorine is, essentially, bleach. And what comes out of most municipally
delivered faucets is, quite actually, a mild bleach solution. Is it healthy to
drink bleach? Does your body require any certain amount of chlorine to remain
healthy? Feel free to consult a physician on that somewhat rhetorical question.
Consider some well-known attributes of chlorine. Let's say, "the dark
side" of the saviour. A PhD chemist friend put it this way: "If I
were assigned to go into a lab and produce a menu of known carcinogens
(cancer-causing agents), the first thing I would do would be to grab-up a cylinder
of chlorine and start bubbling it through some water that contains naturally
occuring organic acids (humic and fumic acids -- as are found in all natural
bodies of water like rivers, lakes, reservoirs, etc.)."
Note the "chloro" part in the following: trichlorophosphate (TCP) and
the trihalomethane group (THMs) which includes chloroform. You may recognize
these known bad guys by the legally imposed requirement of your municipality to
periodically make report to the public (newspaper) on the levels of these known
or highly suspected carcinogens in the tap water being produced. There are
others, but those are popularly known. And they're all chlorine by-products.
Another problem directly related to chlorine disinfection are the aesthetic
properties imparted when chlorine is combined with organic compounds that are
natural to open bodies of water (surface water). This regards the "taste
and odor" problems many municipalities experience during certain times of
the year (especially in four-season latitudes) which draw their water supply
from surface water. Surface water includes ponds, lakes, reservoirs, rivers,
etc., as opposed to underground sources (wells, aquifers). Bubble chlorine
through humic and fumic acids common to surface water supplies and you produce
the "fishy" or "musty" odors and tastes so common in the
spring and fall, when the lake "turns-over."
The good news is, you don't have to drink it anymore. The most practical and
efficient method for removing chlorine, chlorine by-products, and taste and
odor problems, is to filter it with granular activated carbon (GAC) or other
suitable chemical-removing filter media, such as KDF.
The municipalities are stuck. Environmental and public safety laws require most
to maintain a chlorine residual throughout the entire water main delivery
system. This is to retain some disinfecting properties in the event of
groundwater infiltration and other contaminations. Barking at your local water
company or water department about the taste and odor will accomplish nothing.
Chances are, they're doing their best, and meeting the laws. The most practical
solution to the problem is to take it back out at the "point of use"
(POU) -- your own home or office.
see all of our products designed to
remove chlorine (and more) from your drinking water!
Steve Harrison, President
Environmental Systems Distributing
Sunday,
20 February, 2000
The Electronic Telegraph
London, England
An independent study into the use of chlorine-treated drinking water has been ordered by the Government because of fears that it may cause spina bifida and stillbirths.
Scientists from Imperial College, London University, will carry out the research after doctors in Norway, Canada and the United States reported higher levels of birth defects in areas where chlorine is used, compared with drinking water treated by alternative methods. All of Britain's water companies chlorinate their supplies. The only people who have non-chlorinated water are those with their own bore holes or wells.
A Norwegian study of 141,000 births over three years found a 14 per cent increased risk of birth defects in areas with chlorinated water. Scientists have already found an association between chlorine and an increased risk of bowel, kidney and bladder cancer, but it is the first time that a link has been found with higher levels of spina bifida.
Last night the Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus Association said it was "concerned" by the findings and would be discussing them with medical advisers before considering making representations to the Government. British water industry experts have not dismissed the findings but said that the safety benefits of purification outweigh the risks of birth defects.
Dr Per Magnus, who carried out the Norwegian research, said: "This is an important finding because we know there are chemicals released by the action of chlorine on organic particles at treatment works. We have observed mutations in these chemicals which seem to tie up with mutations that are found in babies. We were in a unique position in Norway to make these observations because in some areas our water comes from the mountains and doesn't require cleaning with chlorine."
The Norwegian government has ordered more research. Concerned families there have been filtering tap water. A popular method has been to place sachets of coral sand, dredged from fjords, into water before it is drunk, removing all traces of chlorine in tap water in 15 minutes. In Canada, at Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, researchers found that high levels of trihalomethanes, a by-product of chlorine in drinking water, significantly increased the risk of stillbirth.
Dr John Marshall, of the Pure Water Association, a pressure group which has been campaigning for safer drinking water, said: "It shows we should be paying more attention to the chemicals we put in drinking water and be looking for other alternatives to chlorination. A number of safe, non-toxic options exist, such as treating water with the gas ozone or ultra violet."
Chlorine is in the same chemical group as fluoride, which has been linked with cancer and osteoporosis. There is also a connection between fluoride and increased blood pressure and an increase in problems with the thyroid gland. John Fawell, a leading specialist on water quality, and an independent industry consultant, said the British Government and water companies were taking the danger of birth defects seriously. He said: "The people who have done this work in Norway and the United States are reputable researchers and the Government and water companies have commissioned their own research from London University.
"But at present the conclusion of the World Health Organization and other concerned bodies is that the risk from contaminated water supplies outweighs the risk to health from chlorine. Levels of chlorine and its by-products have been falling in water and the amount coming out of the average tap is half a millilitre per litre."
see all of our products designed to remove chlorine (and
more) from your drinking water!
Visit our Blog to learn about current water quality issues
Index |Water Filters | Shower Filters | Whole House Water Filter -
Backwashing | Whole House Water Filters
|
Water Softeners | Reverse Osmosis | Portable Reverse Osmosis | Private Well Solutions
| Ultraviolet Purifiers|
Nalgene Water Bottles | Stainless Steel Water Bottles | Water Test Kits | Privacy Policy | Site Map