Doesn't
Chloramine and Chlorine
Kill Bacteria?
How
Can They be Bad?
Chlorine: The
experimental use of chlorine began in the 1890's to combat water-borne diseases
such as cholera and typhoid. It quickly gained wide acceptance because of low
cost and high efficiency in killing just about everything hazardous in the
water. Chlorine allowed population centers to spring up and thrive without any
epidemic outbreaks.
- The problem with chlorine is that it is a known
poison and the safety of drinking this poison over the long-term (i.e. your
lifetime) is highly uncertain. Also, chlorine reacts with water-borne
decaying organic matter like leaves, bark, sediment, etc. to create a family
of chemicals called trihalomethanes and other highly toxic substances.
Trihalomethanes, or THM's, include chemicals such as chloroform, bromoform
and dichlorobromethane, all of which are extremely carcinogenic even in
minute amounts.
Chloramine:
Another substance used now in many larger municipalities (i.e. Los
Angeles). In systems where the level of chlorine is at the highest acceptable
level but need still more disinfection, the utility will then add a
chlorine/ammonia compound. Chloramine is represented as totally safe but with
the disclaimer to not give chloramine-treated water to your animals or use it in
your fish tanks (it kills fish)!
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