Contaminants Resulting from Municipal Additives - Chlorine
Disinfection is an important part of the water treatment process
and is almost uniformly used in water treatment plants throughout
the world. The purposes of disinfection are to kill or inactivate
pathogens in drinking water and create a residual level in finished
water to prevent the regrowth of bacteria and other pathogens.
Chlorine has been widely used as a primary disinfectant in drinking
water for nearly a century. Its usefulness as a disinfectant
was first discovered in 1910 when cholera
and typhoid
rates fell dramatically as a result of water chlorination (Christman,
1998). Chlorine is incredibly effective at killing and/or inactivating
pathogens. Chlorines harshness, part of its disinfecting power,
can be quite harmful to the human body.
Chlorine, when ingested in drinking water, can cause eye, nose,
and sinus irritation as well as stomach problems. It also causes
a bad taste in drinking water. The true, insidious nature of
chlorine lies in its potential as a vapor. Chlorine has a much
lower boiling point than water, and thus vaporizes much more
quickly than water. When used while cooking, chlorine can vaporize
quickly and infiltrate the air. Chlorine inhalation is a leading
cause of asthma. Showering in chlorinated water can magnify
the effects of chlorine inhalation, due to the enclosed nature
of shower stalls and the amount of time spent breathing concentrated
chlorine vapors when showering.
Chlorine also creates several byproducts when combined with water. Chlorine byproducts are ingested in drinking water, and are much more dangerous than chlorine itself. These byproducts, leading causes of cancer, are discussed in further detail on the following page.
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