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Chlorination,

Proven Results and Uncertain Conclusions

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Chlorination is considered by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as one of the major public health achievements of the twentieth century.

Disinfecting drinking water for human and animal use ensures that it becomes depleted of active microorganisms causing serious and life-threatening diseases, such as cholera, typhoid fever, dysentery and hepatitis A.

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It is amazing to discover that a hot dispute is running between two opposite parties. Those interpret research results as indicating clear signs of impending danger of cancer development among people who drink chlorinated water and warn against the ill conceived decision of continuing with the chlorination practice.

Others dismiss the same results as failing to prove beyond doubt that the risks are real, and insist that much deeper research is needed to conclude the dispute one way or the other. In the meantime they think there is no imminent danger. This position is implicitly accepted by EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency).

Resources on water disinfection available online may offer to our readers contrasting points of view. Those who wish to read on both sides and decide by themselves which arguments are the more convincing can ask us to provide a quite rich list of Resources.
Use the form in our Contact Us page to request it.

Sometimes, in the heat of the discussion, the contenders may present their opinions in a biased way. Reader are advised to look at the information with a critic and skeptic eye!

The basic facts are that chlorination disinfection has been successfully in use for more than a century. There are records of sudden outbreaks of infection due to occasional, temporary, local disruption of the service.

Although chlorine is a strong chemical, it is not by itself the main cause for concern in drinking water. New chemicals that remain in the water are formed when chlorine combines with organic matter such as dead leaves and soil that may be present before treatment.

These are byproducts of chlorine disinfection. The amount and types of these substances depends on several factors, including the quality of the untreated water, the amount of chlorine used in the process and the contact time between organic substances and chlorine.

Some of the byproducts are possibly carcinogenic. It has been reported that high doses of some disinfection byproducts (DBPs), can cause cancer in laboratory animals.Among these Trihalomethanes (THMs) and Haloacetic Acids (HAAs) are the most commonly suspected products.

It should be noted that a thorough review of the complete toxicology studies, concluded that "None of the chlorination byproducts studied to date is a potent carcinogen at concentrations normally found in drinking water".

There is no general consensus upon the acceptable safety level of these possibly harmful substances, although different authorities indicate the suggested maximum levels (in parts per billion) that should be set as Standard.

In case the limits are passed, one should resort to alternative disinfection procedures (like treatment with Ozone, with Ultra Violet light or use of chlorine dioxide or chloroamines) or modify protection strategies.

Obviously these alternatives are less preferable inasmuch as they are more expensive than plain chlorination.

It seems that, for every practical purpose, one should trust the views expressed by the appointed authorities in specific laws and directives applicable in definite areas.

Therefore one should accept the conclusion that the drinking water supplied by municipal services is quite safe in general. Nevertheless more and more people believe that the actual quality delivered at one's tap can and should be improved by installing a simple device called a home filtering system.

This opinion makes a lot of sense. Readers are invited to check the page giving Filter Advice, to explore how it is suggested to reach a decision.

See the following article on
The Health Effects of Drinking Water Contamination
and consider the benefits to the health of all, by installing suitable water purifiers in your home.

Click on Drinking water filters for all your water purifier needs.

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