CHLORINE In Your Shower and Drinking Water
Municipalities in the United States, have made a tremendous contribution to our health and well being, with the use of chlorine to reduce or eliminate diseases caused by water borne micro biological contaminants, such as such as cholera, typhoid and amoebic dysentery. However, municipalities have found that chlorine has it's downfalls. Because it evaporates rapidly, it does not have much residual effect in killing bacteria. For this reason, massive amounts of chlorine need to be used to prevent microbiological growth throughout the distribution system. Chlorine may have environmental and other liabilities as well. It does its' job by bonding with and oxidizing organic compounds. Oxidation can occur with the proteins and organic matter inside and outside our bodies as well, and has been associated with cell damage and reduced cell vitality by many nutritionists. It also interacts with organics (dead leaves and sediment etc.) in the water to form volatile organic chemicals known as Trihalamethanes (THM's). Various THMs have been classified by the EPA as possible and probable human carcinogens, and have been associated with bladder and rectal cancer according to studies registered with the EPA and research performed by Dr. Robert Morris of the Medical College of Wisconsin, and others. For this reason, the EPA has mandated that municipalities eliminate or reduce down to 1PPM (part per million) THM's occurring in local water supplies.o HT filters were tested for chlorine removal and found to remove over 99% for 1,800 gallons worth of water with a 2PPM spike. (Was done for NSF 42-Taste and Odor claims). Unfortunately, they have not performed a similar test for chloramines.
Following are a collection of articles on the effects of chlorine on health, written by various scientists and health care professionals.
Municipalities in the United States, have made a tremendous contribution to our health and well being, with the use of chlorine to reduce or eliminate diseases caused by water borne micro biological contaminants, such as such as cholera, typhoid and amoebic dysentery. However, municipalities have found that chlorine has it's downfalls. Because it evaporates rapidly, it does not have much residual effect in killing bacteria. For this reason, massive amounts of chlorine need to be used to prevent microbiological growth throughout the distribution system. Chlorine may have environmental and other liabilities as well. It does its' job by bonding with and oxidizing organic compounds. Oxidation can occur with the proteins and organic matter inside and outside our bodies as well, and has been associated with cell damage and reduced cell vitality by many nutritionists. It also interacts with organics (dead leaves and sediment etc.) in the water to form volatile organic chemicals known as Trihalamethanes (THM's). Various THMs have been classified by the EPA as possible and probable human carcinogens, and have been associated with bladder and rectal cancer according to studies registered with the EPA and research performed by Dr. Robert Morris of the Medical College of Wisconsin, and others. For this reason, the EPA has mandated that municipalities eliminate or reduce down to 1PPM (part per million) THM's occurring in local water supplies.o HT filters were tested for chlorine removal and found to remove over 99% for 1,800 gallons worth of water with a 2PPM spike. (Was done for NSF 42-Taste and Odor claims). Unfortunately, they have not performed a similar test for chloramines.
Following are a collection of articles on the effects of chlorine on health, written by various scientists and health care professionals.
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"Taking long hot showers is a health risk, according to research presented last week in Anaheim, California, at a meeting of the American Chemical Society. Showers and to a lesser extent baths-lead to a greater exposure to toxic chemicals contained in water supplies than does drinking the water. The chemicals evaporate out of the water and are inhaled. They can also spread through the house and be inhaled by others. House holders can receive 6 to 100 times more of the chemical by breathing the air around showers and bath than they would by drinking the water."
NEW SCIENTIST 18 September 1986 lan Anderson "Studies indicate the suspect chemicals can also be inhaled and absorbed through the skin during showering and bathing." "ironically, even the Chlorine widely used to disinfect water produces Carcinogenic traces." "Though 7 out of 10 Americans drink chlorinated water, its safety over the long term is uncertain." Drinking chlorinated water may as much as double the risk of the Bladder Cancer, which strikes 40,000 people a year. U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT- July 291991 Is Your Water Safe The Dangerous State of Your Water "A long, hot shower can be dangerous. The toxic chemicals are inhaled in high concentrations." BOTTOM LlNE/August 87 Dr. John Andelman, Ph.D "On one hand, chlorination has freed civilization from the constant dangers of waterborne epidemics. On the other hand in the mid '70s scientists discovered that chlorination could create carcinogens in water. U80% of the population drinks chlorinated water. There was a higher incidence of cancer of the esophagus, rectum, breast, and larynx and of Hodgkin's Disease among those drinking chlorinated Surface water. Volatile organic can evaporate from water In a shower or bath." "Conservative calculations indicate that inhalation exposures can be as significant as exposure sure from drinking the water, that is, one can be exposed to just as much by inhalation during a shower as by drinking 2 liters of water a day." "People who shower frequently could be exposed through ingestion, inhalation and/or dermal absorption." IS YOUR WATER SAFE TO DRINK? Consumer Reports Books "Skin absorption of contaminant has been underestimated and ingestion may not constitute the sole or even primary route of exposure." AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH Dr. Halina Brown 'Showering Is suspected as the primary cause of elevated levels of chloroform In nearly every home because of the chlorine in the water." ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY Dr. Lance Wallace |
"A Professor of Water Chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh claims that exposure to vaporized chemicals in the water supplies through showering, bathing, and inhalation is 100 times greater than through drinking the water." As chlorine is added to kill pathogenic microorganisms, the highly reactive chlorine combines with fatty acids and carbon fragments to form a variety of toxic compounds, which comprise about 30% of the chlorination by products." "During the mid-~970s monitoring efforts began to identify widespread toxic contamination of the nation's drinking water supplies, epidemiological studies began to suggest a link between ingestion of toxic chemicals in the water and elevated cancer mortality risks. Since those studies were completed a variety of additional studies have strengthened the statistical connection between consumption of toxins in water and elevated cancer risks. Moreover, this basic concern has been heightened by other research discoveries.
THE NADER REPORT- TROUBLED WATERS ON TAP Center For Study of Responsive Law "The National Academy of Sciences estimate that 200 to 1000 people die in the United States each year from cancers caused by ingesting the contaminants in water. The major health threat posed by these pollutants is far more likely to be from their inhalation as air pollutants. The reason that emissions are high is that because water droplets dispersed by the shower head have a larger surface to-value ratio than water streaming into the bath." SCIENCE NEWS. VOL. 130 Janet Raloff "The cause of atherosclerosis and resulting heart attacks and strokes is none other than the ubiquitous chlorine in our drinking water." CORONARlES/CHOLESTEROL/CHLORlNE Dr. J.M. Price, M.D "In the vast majority of cases where germ-free water is required whether for public supply-or in the swimming pool, the process of disinfection will involve the use of chlorine in one form or another." CHEMISTRY AND CONTROL OF MODERN CHLORINATION Dr. A.T. Palin, Ph.D.. (O.B.E.) "Chlorine gas was despicably used during WW1. When the war was over, the use of chlorine was diverted to poisoning germs in our drinking water. All water supplies throughout the country were chlorinated. The combination of chlorine (when in drinking water) and animal fats results in atherosclerosis, heart attacks, and death." WATER CAN UNDERMINE YOUR HEALTH Dr. N.W. Walker, D.S. |
