by Nancy Hearn
2
The addition of chlorine in drinking water has
been the standard in water treatment in the United States since 1904.
Thus, for over 100 years
we have trusted and relied on chlorine to purify our water and kill off any
waterborne pathogens.
The
good news is that chlorine has done a good job in killing off most
microorganisms in the water.
In fact, the United
States has one of the safest water supplies in the world, and I am truly
grateful for this.
Without chlorine (or
some other form of water disinfection treatment), millions of people would die
from devastating infections such as cholera, salmonella, and others.
The Bad of Chlorine in Drinking Water
The bad news is that
chlorine treatment does not absolutely ensure that by the time our drinking
water comes out of our home faucet it is free of unhealthy microorganisms.
Dangerous bacteria (such
as e-coli and coliform) are still found in chlorinated tap water on occasion.
When this happens it is primarily due to problems related to the treatment
system itself or to the transport of the water to our homes.
Thus,
relying on chlorine disinfection alone is a false guarantee that the water from
your tap is safe to drink.
Even minimal exposure to
these types of bacteria can cause symptoms similar to the flu, such as
headaches, diarrhea, cramps, nausea or vomiting.
Thus, I highly recommend
a tap water filter at the point-of-use (your water faucet)
to ensure adequate filtration of unhealthy micro-organisms, as well as other
many other contaminants, that could end up in your drinking water.
The Ugly Side of Chlorine
The ugly side of
drinking chlorinated water has only recently been documented.
And it has to do with
the long-term health effects of chlorine and itsdisinfection by-products
(DBPs).
What the studies have
found is that chlorine itself is not the main problem; rather it has to do with
what happens when the chlorine mixes with any type of organic matter in the
water.
In
the 1970s scientists discovered that when chlorine is added to water, it forms
Trihalomethanes (THMs), one of which is chloroform. THMs increase the
production of free radicals in the body and are highly carcinogenic (cancer
causing).
Chlorine and THMS have
been linked to various types of cancer, kidney and liver damage, immune system
dysfunction, disorders of the nervous system, hardening of the arteries, and
birth defects.
Negative Effects of DBPs and Chlorine
Unfortunately, we are
learning the hard way that our attempts to prevent illness by adding chlorine
in drinking water has contributed to another problem—the increase of cancer and
heart disease. Check out what the experts have to say:
“Cancer
risk among people using chlorinated water is as much as 93 percent higher than
among those whose water does not contain chlorine,” according to the U.S. Council of Environmental Quality.
According to the
BreastCancerFund.org,“One common factor among women with breast cancer is
that they all have 50 to 60 percent higher levels of these chlorination
by-products (THMs) in their fat tissue than women without breast cancer . . .”
"Long-term
drinking of chlorinated water appears to increase a person's risk of developing
bladder cancer as much as 80 percent,”as documented in a study published in the Journal of the
National Cancer Institute. Some 45,000 Americans are diagnosed every year with
bladder cancer.
"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," according to Health Freedom News, January/February
1987.
But drinking chlorinated
water is only half the problem. Bathing and showering in unfiltered tap water
is just as bad as drinking it, according to the Journal of Public Health and
numerous other scientists and doctors. See "Chlorine in Tap Water - Why Use a Bath and Shower Filter?"
A Better Way to Disinfect Water
The primary reason
adding chlorine to water for disinfection has become so widely accepted is not
because it is the safest or most effective way to disinfect water — it is the
cheapest.
Is there a better way? A
handful of cities such as Las Vegas, Nevada, and Santa Clara, California, have
begun treating their water through a process called ozonation. It is more
expensive for the city, but the side effects are minimal.
Ozonation
is a step in the right direction for these large cities and I would like to see
other cities follow their example or find other non-toxic disinfection
solutions.
For those of us who
don’t live in these cities, there are a few options. The most powerful and
cost-effective way to get chlorine-free water is to invest in a whole house water filter or to purchase a drinking water
filter and/or bath and shower filter for your home.
A Final Thought
Do you know what happens
when you put chlorine into a fish bowl?
All the fish die. That
is why fish tanks come with a de-chlorinator. So then why are we drinking
and showering in this chemical that kills another organism in a matter of
hours?
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