For approximately 150 years, chlorine has been a vital, yet dangerous, part of our tap water. Water chlorination first began as a way to combat such deadly waterborne diseases as cholera and typhoid. Because of the immense success of this harsh chemical in disinfecting water from harmful viruses and bacteria, Life Magazine recently lauded water chlorination as “probably the most significant public health advance of the millennium.”

No one can doubt that chlorine is highly effective and efficient at its job. Unfortunately-- for those who take this chemical into their bodies each day--chlorine is a bit too effective at its job. Chlorine is a listed poison and a known killer; just as it kills bacteria and viruses in drinking water, it kills or damages cells within the human body. While some manner of water disinfection is necessary and vital in any public society, chlorination is hardly the safest or even most efficient. The reason chlorine is used with such regularity (despite the growing numbers of chlorine-related diseases) is its relatively low cost as a water treatment method. Unfortunately, the lowest priced item is not always the highest quality item.

While it is unlikely that municipal treatment plants will ever abandon water chlorination entirely, it still lies within the power of a wise water consumer to protect himself against the dangers of chlorine. The simple solution to water chlorination lies in the use of a home water filter. However, before evaluating this solution, let’s briefly examine the dangerous health effects of drinking chlorinated water.

Chlorine and Cancer
Chlorine and its byproducts are now known causes of three of the most deadly types of cancer: bladder, rectal, and breast cancer. When chlorine is added to water, it interacts with natural organic compounds in the water to form trihalomethanes (THMs). THMs are incredibly carcinogenic. Once ingested in the body, THMs encourage the production of free radicals. These free radicals are a major cause of abnormal/cancerous cell growth. Chlorine byproducts specifically affect the bladder and rectum (due to the amount of ingested water that is sent to these organs). Once cancer has infected these areas, it can quickly spread to more sensitive and/or vital organs. According to current statistics, bladder and rectal cancer account for 30,000 deaths in the United States each year.

In addition to its causal role in bladder and rectal cancer, chlorine is now being connected with cases of breast cancer. Breast cancer currently affects one out of every eight women, and it has become one of the deadliest, most damaging diseases women face. In a new study conducted in Hartford, Connecticut, breast cancer victims were examined in order to discover possible correlations between the different cases. While studying the women, researchers came across a surprising connection between cases. The results of the study indicated that women with breast cancer had between 50% to 60% higher levels of chlorine byproducts in their breast tissue as compared to women without breast cancer. These high levels of chlorine byproducts in breast cancer victims are hardly coincidental. Just as THM-created, free radicals damage and kill healthy cells in the bladder and/or rectum, they also damage and kill healthy cells in the breast tissue.

Chlorine and Respiratory Illness
Many recent studies of the damaging effects of chlorine have also indicated the insidious nature of gaseous chlorine. Of course, the fact that chlorine fumes can burn and/or severely damage sensitive lung tissue is hardly new knowledge. Chlorine gas bombs were used with deadly effectiveness as weapons in the First World War for this very reason. Such large doses of chlorine fumes will, as a matter of course, adversely affect the body, but are smaller doses of the same deadly gas any safer? It would certainly seem not, but millions of individuals across the United States are consistently breathing in chlorine fumes, effectively putting their lives and their lungs in jeopardy.

Chlorine fumes corrupt the air quality of a home simply by remaining a part of that home’s water. Chlorine escapes into the air each time the dishwasher is used or a toilet is flushed. The shower, also, is one of the biggest culprits in the corruption of air quality. Because chlorine vaporizes at a much lower temperature and faster rate than ordinary water, more than 85% of the chlorine in showering water will translate into chlorine fumes that can be inhaled in the shower stall. Of course, it’s highly unlikely that breathing in chlorine fumes in a shower stall or in the home environment will cause instant death or immediate, severe damage to the lungs. However, chlorine fumes can slowly begin to damage the delicate tissue of the lungs, causing or aggravating such diseases as asthma and bronchitis.

The Water Filter Solution
As stated above, the solution to the problem of chlorinated water will not likely occur on a municipal scale. The threat of waterborne diseases and other contaminants is simply too high for any responsible public official to abandon drinking water chlorination (at least as long as no other feasible option exists). The solution to this problem lies on an individual-by-individual, home-by-home basis.

The newest and most innovative method of reducing the risk of chlorinated water lies in home water filtration. Chlorine is the most dangerous and insidious contaminant of municipally treated water, and drinking water filters and whole house water filters are two of the only methods of water purification that are capable of removing chlorine.

An individual cannot always rely upon city officials to protect him and his family from all dangers. It is the responsibility of the private citizen to protect himself when he can. Facing the dangers of chlorine, a home water filter is simply the best and most effective means of individual protection and prevention.

To learn more about the incidence and effects of chlorine in drinking water, visit http://www.aquasanastore.com/, an online guide to drinking water and water filtration.

About the Author