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Chlorine in Your Water?

Is is safe to drink on a daily basis? 

You decide...
    

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 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, we highly recommend a 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.

Chlorine Filter		Chlorine-VOC-Sediment-E.Coli-Fluoride-Bacteria

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 its disinfection 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.

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.

Bathing and Showering in Chlorinated Water

What most people don’t realize is that chlorine in drinking water is not the only problem. According to the Journal of Public Health, “Up to two-thirds of the harmful effects of chlorine are due to inhalation and skin absorption while showering.” 

Vitashower Filter		Dechlorination Tablets

Even though I had filtered my drinking water for chlorine and other contaminants for many years, it took me a while longer to realize how much chlorine I was being exposed to in an unfiltered shower. We just don’t think about it.

The inhalation of chlorine and other chemical vapors into our lungs means that these chemicals enter directly into our bloodstream.

In addition, since the shower is warm or hot, our pores are wide open and our skin readily absorbs the chemicals.

And then there is the cosmetic effect of chlorine – it strips the protective oils from the skin and hair, causing excess drying and wrinkling of skin as well as dry and brittle hair.

Thus, removing chlorine and other volatile chemicals with a quality shower filter is just as important as removing these chemicals from your drinking water with a tap water filter.

A research study at Harvard used a new technique called meta-analysis to combine the results from ten of the most reputable studies.

• About 90% of the population is drinking water which may contain hundreds of these Disinfection By-products (DBPs), also known as Trihalomethanes

• Their study concluded that people drinking chlorinated water over long periods have a 21% increase in the risk of contracting bladder cancer, and a 38% increase in the risk of rectal cancer.

• "I am quite convinced, based on this study, that there is an association between cancer and chlorinated water." -Robert D. Morris of the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee

• "Although concentrations of these carcinogens are low...it is precisely these low levels which cancer scientists believe are responsible for the majority of human cancers in the United States." -The Environmental Defense Fund

• "According to a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 'Long term drinking of chlorinated water appears to increase a person's risk of developing bladder cancer as much as 80%,'  Some 45,000 Americans are diagnosed every year with bladder cancer." -published in the St. Paul Dispatch & Pioneer Press

• "Chlorine itself is not believed to be the problem. Scientists suspect that the actual cause of the bladder cancers is a group of chemicals that form as result of reactions between the chlorine and natural substances and pollutants in the water."

• "The drinking of chlorinated water has finally been officially linked to an increased incidence of colon cancer."-Health Freedom News

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."

What Type of Water Filter Removes Chlorine?

The use of monochloramine as a primary disinfectant in a municipal water supply presents specific removal issues due to its low degradation rate. This means that the disinfectant will be persistent and have a long life within a municipal water supply. This has prompted Fresh Water Depot to investigate the use of its products as a reductant for monochloramine in potable water.

There is a relationship between pH and the various oxidation states of nitrogen compounds. Decreasing the bulk pH of the solution increases the acidity in the vicinity of the mediums surface that can then facilitate monochloramine reduction. The presence of a metal ion that can be precipitated as a hydroxide can have this effect.

Fresh Water Depot uses a water filter, which breaks the bond between chlorine and ammonia that is used to make chloramines. Once the chloramines are reduced to chlorine and ammonia, they are easily removed.

Water Filters

There are two basic types of water filter. Those that are installed inside a water ionizer and those that are installed outside a water ionizer or as a standalone filter. External filter systems can be configured in any number of stages with each stage removing a particular type or group of contaminants. Removing one type or group of contaminants is often considered a 1-Stage filter (i.e. removing either chlorine, fluoride-lead-arsenic, or nitrates). Filters can be combined to form any number of stages to form: 2-Stage, 3-Stage, and even 7-Stage (i.e. reverse osmosis) filter systems. How many stages you need to filter your water depends on the possible contaminants in your water. The most common water contaminants include:

By combining different filters into a 2-Stage or 3-Stage system, you can remove multiple contaminants to produce a higher quality drinking water than with just a 1-Stage filter. Reverse osmosis filtration systems are more expensive, however, they are recommended for removing the highest percent (up to 99%) of contaminants from your water.