Home
>
Nutrition
>
The Two Faces of Chlorine

The Two Faces of Chlorine

If you are like most people, you don't enjoy the taste of chlorine in your drinking water. Nevertheless, you're willing to put up with it because it kills certain bacteria that are harmful to your health.

This article will look at the "Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde" characteristics of chlorinated water. These characteristics are much more ominous than the mere combination of bad taste and health benefits might suggest.

The Dr. Jekyll of Water Treatment . . .

Time magazine hailed the use of chlorination in water treatment as one of the major scientific achievements of the 20th century. Chlorine was first used to treat the public water supplies of Jersey City, New Jersey in 1908. Since then, it has achieved almost universal application in the industrialized nations.

The impact of chlorinating public water supplies has been dramatic. In 1908, the average life expectancy in America was 49 years. At the turn of the 21st Century, the average life expectancy had risen to 77 years and it is still climbing.

In 1941, Mathieson Alkali Works published the document, "Hypo-Chlorination of Water." The document colorfully described the lifesaving benefits of chlorine: "The fearsome specter of water-borne diseases, including typhoid fever, so prevalent before the advent of chlorination, can be successfully laid to rest. The water works operator, by his testing and treating, stands as a vigilant sentinel to prevent armies of billions of disease organisms from invading the homes of his community."

The use of this chemical in the treatment of drinking water is responsible for the elimination of typhoid and cholera, especially in developed countries.

The Mr. Hyde of Water Treatment . . .

The benefits of using chlorine as a sanitizing agent are obvious. However, this water treatment agent has a darker side. All the time we thought we were preventing epidemics of one disease? we were creating another. Two decades after the start of chlorinating our drinking water the present epidemic of heart trouble and cancer began.

When water treatment facilities employ chlorine and other disinfectants to control microbial contaminants, they react with naturally occurring organic and inorganic matter in the water. This reaction produces Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM). These trihalomethanes are chloroform, bromodichloromethane, dibromochloromethane, and bromoform.

According to the EPA, trihalomethanes are present in most public water supplies. The scarey thing is that some scientific studies link TTHMs to an increased risk of cancer. The U.S. Council of Environmental Quality reports that Cancer risks among people using chlorinated water are up to 93% higher than among those whose water contains no chlorine.

Other studies suggest that TTHMs may cause problems in the reproductive process. They may also be linked to heart, lung, kidney, liver, and central nervous system damage.

Skin Absorption of Chlorine . . .

Most assessments of the effects of water borne contaminants on the human body assume that ingestion through the drinking of water is the primary route of exposure. However, recent studies at the University of Pittsburgh found less chemical exposure from drinking chlorinated water than from showering or washing clothes in it. The study found that, on average, absorption through the skin accounted for 64% of water borne contaminants entering the body. Recent research shows that we have underestimated the amount of contaminants absorbed through the skin. This research reveals that ingestion may not be the sole or even primary route of exposure.

Besides penetration of contaminants through the skin, the contaminants can adversely affect the skin and hair. Chlorine bonds chemically with proteins in the hair, skin and scalp. As a result: (1) the hair can become rough and brittle and lose its color, (2) the skin can become dry and itchy, and (3) it can aggravate sensitive areas in the eyes, nose, throat and lungs.

Inhaling Chlorine By-Products When Showering Is a Major Threat . . .

Evidence clearly shows that contaminants like chloroform and trichloroethylene do serious harm when ingested or absorbed into the body. However, the major threat caused by these water pollutants is far more likely to be as air pollutants.

Hot showers can release these dissolved contaminants into the air. The lungs absorb these contaminants, including chlorine, trichloroethylene, chloroform, benzene. They pass from the lungs into the bloodstream.

Conclusion . . .

While chlorinating public water supplies is perhaps the most efficient way to address the problem of water contamination, it does present a "catch 22" situation. We are damned if we do and damned if we don't.

How do we deal with this seemingly impossible situation? It appears that the better part of wisdom would show that chlorine should do its work until it gets to the point of use. At that point we can remove it along with the trihalomethanes and other contaminants with a quality home water filter.

Earl Calvert is a freelance writer and lives in Birmingham, AL. As an advocate for clean drinking water, Earl designed his website on drinking water to educate the public water quality issues. For more information, go to http://good-clean-water.com

eco-friendly cleaning service Buffalo Grove ..

In The News:

A new phone return scam targets recent buyers with fake carrier calls. Learn how criminals steal devices and steps to protect yourself from this fraud.

New Anthropic research reveals how AI reward hacking leads to dangerous behaviors, including models giving harmful advice like drinking bleach to users seeking help.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Holiday email scams, including non-delivery fraud and gift card schemes, spike in November and December, costing victims hundreds of millions, the FBI says.

Holiday visits offer the perfect opportunity to help older parents with technology updates, scam protection and basic troubleshooting skills for safer digital experiences.

Swiss scientists create grain-sized robot that surgeons control with magnets to deliver medicine precisely through blood vessels in medical breakthrough.

Researchers exploited WhatsApp's API vulnerability to scrape 3.5 billion phone numbers. Learn how this massive data breach happened and protect yourself.

Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.

Xpeng's humanoid robot moves so realistically that crowds believed it was fake, marking a major advancement in robotics technology ahead of 2026 commercial launch.

Researchers discover phishing scam using invisible characters to evade email security, with protection tips including password managers and two-factor authentication.

iPhone and Android users can reduce battery drain and data usage by restricting Background App Refresh to Wi-Fi connections instead of mobile networks.

Scammers nearly stole an Apple account by exploiting the support system with authentic-looking tickets and phone calls, users can protect themselves with safety steps.

FoloToy restored sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a weeklong suspension following safety group findings of risky and inappropriate responses to children.

Threat intelligence firm Synthient uncovers one of the largest password exposures ever, prompting immediate security recommendations.

Viral video shared by Elon Musk shows Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots performing tasks from cooking to construction, garnering over 58.5 million views on social media.

Chinese hackers used Anthropic's Claude AI to launch autonomous cyberattacks on 30 organizations worldwide, marking a major shift in cybersecurity threats.

Apple's new Sleep Score feature gives you a rating for your nightly rest quality. Learn how to set it up on your Apple Watch and iPhone today.

Essential phone settings to enable before losing your device, including Find My network, location services and security features for iPhone and Android.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Cybersecurity research shows weak passwords remain a major threat, with simple patterns and number sequences putting millions of accounts at risk.

New Android malware BankBot YNRK silences phones, steals banking data and drains crypto wallets automatically. Learn how this advanced threat works.

FDA approves first human trial for Paradromics' brain-computer interface that could restore speech for paralyzed patients through neural technology.

New phishing platform QRR targets Microsoft 365 users across 1,000 domains in 90 countries. Learn how to spot fake login pages and protect your accounts.

OpenTable now uses AI to track your dining habits and share insights with restaurants. Learn what data they collect and how to protect your privacy.

Google's discontinued Nest thermostats still secretly upload home data to company servers despite losing smart features, raising serious privacy concerns.

The Two Faces of Chlorine

Nutrition