Chlorine is by far the most common disinfectant used by water treatment plants across the country to treat public water supplies. It has been used for many years, which would lead you to believe that it is safe to consume. But is it possible that adding a chemical to the water you drink doesn’t have any adverse health effects? Today we’re going to explore that question by talking about why water treatment plants use chlorine, what the EPA has to say about the health effects of chlorine and whether or not it’s healthy to drink chlorinated water!
Why do water treatment plants use chlorine?
There are a number of reasons why water treatment plants choose to use chlorine as their primary disinfectant. For one, it is a much cheaper option than alternatives like ultraviolet light treatment, making it much more budget-friendly for the city. In addition, chlorine is highly-effective at killing pathogens and microbes that would otherwise allow waterborne illnesses to spread through public drinking water supplies. This is further bolstered by the fact that chlorine continues to disinfect water after it leaves the water treatment plants and travels to our homes.
What does the EPA have to say about the health effects of chlorine?
The EPA has long-claimed that adding chlorine to public water supplies does not have any adverse health effects as long as it’s maintained within proper limits. They have set maximum contaminant levels for both chlorine and its chemical byproducts.
But even the EPA admits that chlorine and its byproducts are not safe when they exceed these levels. According to their website, excessive chlorine can cause eye and nose irritation as well as stomach discomfort. They even admit that trihalomethanes (THM’s), the dangerous byproducts that are produced when chlorine interacts with organic matter in water, can cause liver, kidney and central nervous system problems in addition to increasing your risk for cancer.
Is chlorinated water healthy?
There have been many studies performed on the effects of chlorine in drinking water. As more research is done, many scientists, researchers and health officials are discovering that chlorine and its byproducts might be more dangerous than we initially thought and that the EPA is letting on. In particular, it’s becoming more and more apparent that long-term exposure to chlorine and THM’s, even at small doses under the EPA’s limits, can lead to serious health effects.
Recent research has linked chlorinated tap water to an increased risk of bladder and rectal cancers. This is largely due to the fact that the THM’s produced by chlorine create free radicals that damage and destroy cells. Since much of the water we drink ends up in those parts of our body, it makes sense that it would increase the risk for those types of cancer.
In addition, a recent study found that women with breast cancer have 50-60 percent higher levels of chlorine by-products in their breast tissue than cancer-free women. This has caused many scientists and researchers to worry that drinking and breathing chlorinated tap water can increase a woman’s risk for breast cancer.
Don’t worry about whether or not chlorinated water is healthy: Install a water treatment system
There’s no reason to gamble with the question of whether or not chlorinated water is healthy, especially as the trends in research seem to indicate that it causes many serious health issues. Instead, install a water treatment system in your home. McBride’s offers a number of water treatment systems, such as an activated carbon filter, that are excellent at removing chlorine and its byproducts from your water. By installing a water treatment system, you can gain the public-safety benefits of chlorinated water while also removing the chemical before you consume it in your home.
If you have any questions about whether or not chlorinated water is healthy, or if you’d like a water system serviced or installed in your home, contact North Carolina Water Consultants, your water softener and water filtration system dealer in North and South Carolina. We provide service all over the Carolinas, including towns like Mooresville, Matthews and Kannapolis, NC.