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Dangers of Chlorine The addition of chlorine to our water began in the late 1800s and by 1904 was the standard in water treatment, and for the most part remains so today. Chlorine is used not because it’s the safest or even the most effective means of disinfection, but it is the cheapest. According to the U.S. Council Of Environmental Quality, “Cancer risk among people drinking chlorinated water is 93% higher than among those whose water does not contain chlorine.” When chlorine is added to our water, it combines with other natural compounds to form Trihalomethanes (chlorination byproducts), or THMs. These chlorine byproducts trigger the production of free radicals in the body, causing cell damage, and are highly carcinogenic. “Although concentrations of these carcinogens (THMs) are low, it is precisely these low levels that cancer scientists believe are responsible for the majority of human cancers in the United States“. The Environmental Defense Fund Chlorine is a pesticide, as defined by the U.S. EPA, who’s sole purpose is to kill living organisms. Dr. Robert Carlson, a University of Minnesota researcher whose work is sponsored by the Federal Environmental Protection Agency states, “the chlorine problem is similar to that of air pollution”, and that “chlorine is the greatest crippler and killer of modern times!” One of the most shocking components to all of these studies is that up to 2/3s of our harmful exposure to chlorine is due to inhalation of steam and skin absorption while showering. The skin is the largest organ of the body. A warm shower or bath opens up the pores of the skin and allows for accelerated absorption into the body of chlorine and other chemicals in water. Even more alarming is the ingestion of chlorine in its vaporized form from a long, hot shower directly into the bloodstream. According to The Nader Report - Troubled Waters on Tap, “A professor of Water Chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh claims that exposure to vaporized chemicals in water supplies through showering, bathing and inhalation is 100 times greater than through drinking water.” Chlorine has been described as “the greatest crippler and killer of modern times.” It has been linked to many degenerative diseases. A study carried out in Hartford, Connecticut found, “women with breast cancer have 50 to 60 percent higher levels of organochlorines (chlorination byproducts) in their breast tissue than women without breast cancer.” Additionally, chlorine strips moisture and elasticity from skin, promoting the aging process through cell deterioration, leaving the skin looking less vibrant and youthful. It damages the hair and irritates the scalp causing dandruff to worsen and negatively affecting colored hair. Chlorine in shower water also has a very negative cosmetic effect, robbing our skin and hair of moisture and elasticity, resulting in a less vibrant and youthful appearance. Skin becomes dry and itchy and can lead to rashes and other skin conditions. Chlorine bonds to and destroys the proteins in our hair, leaving the hair looking dry and unmanageable. It negatively affects the scalp, causing dryness and itchiness and can exacerbate dandruff. Showering in chlorinated water can also damage chemically tinted hair by stripping its color, leaving hair to look dull and faded. Facts About Chlorine “Conservative calculations indicate that taking a shower exposes you to the equivalent of consuming an additional two liters of chlorinated water each day. Inhalation and skin absorption of chloroform and chlorine by-products is greatest in the shower, where these gases are vaporized.” THE WATER YOU DRINK: HOW SAFE IS IT? “While the purity of our drinking water is of primary importance, contaminants and chlorine byproducts also enter our bodies through the skin via the water in which we bathe. Also, our lungs absorb toxic fumes from the gaseous chlorine byproducts that are released in a steamy shower. Chlorine in shower water can strip protein from our hair and skin causing dry, irritated eyes, itchy skin, and dandruff.” WATER: THE ULTIMATE CURE “The use of chlorine for water treatment to reduce the risk of infectious disease may account for a substantial portion of the cancer risk associated with drinking water.” ENVIRON HEALTH PERSPECT- Nov. 1995 “Recently, showers have been suspected to be an important source of indoor exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOC).” “Since estimates of chloroform risk from domestic water use for the three exposure routes—ingestion, inhalation and dermal—are similar, all routes must be used to calculate the total risk when making policy decisions regarding the quality of the municipal water supply.” RISK ANNAL-Dec 1990 “Taking long hot showers is a health risk, according to research presented last week in Anaheim, California, at a meeting of the American Chemical Society. Showers, and to a lesser extent baths, lead to greater exposure to toxic chemicals contained in water supplies than does drinking the water. The chemicals evaporate out of the water and are inhaled. They can also spread through the house and be inhaled by others. House holders can receive 6 to 100 times more of the chemical by breathing the air around showers and bath than they would by drinking the water.” NEW SCIENTIST 18 September 1986 “On one hand, chlorination has freed civilization from the constant dangers of waterborne epidemics. On the other hand in the mid –70s scientists discovered that chlorination could create carcinogens in water. 80% of the population drinks chlorinated water. There was a higher incidence of cancer of the esophagus, rectum, breast and larynx and of Hodgkin’s Disease among those drinking chlorinated surface waters. Volatile organics can evaporate from water in a shower or bath. Conservative calculations indicate that inhalation exposures can be as significant as exposure from drinking the water, that is, one can be exposed to just as much by inhalation during a shower as be drinking 2 liters of water a day. People who shower frequently could be exposed through ingestion, inhalation and/or dermal absorption.” IS YOUR WATER SAFE TO DRINK? “Showering is suspected as the primary cause of elevated levels of chloroform in nearly every home because of the chlorine in the water.” ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY “The National Academy of Sciences estimates that 200 to 1000 people die in the United States each year from cancers caused by ingesting the contaminants in water. The major health threat posed by these pollutants is far more likely to be from their inhalation as air pollutants. The reason that emissions are high is that because water droplets dispersed by the shower head have a larger surface-to-value ratio than water streaming into the bath.” SCIENCE NEWS, Vol. 130 “The cause of arteriosclerosis and resulting heart attaches and strokes is none other than the ubiquitous chlorine in our drinking water.” CORONARIES / CHOLESTEROL / CHLORINE “Chlorine gas was despicably used during WW1. When the war was over, the use of chlorine was diverted to poisoning germs in our drinking water. The combination of chlorine (when in drinking water) and animals fats results in arteriosclerosis, heart attacks, and death.” WATER CAN UNDERMINE YOUR HEALTH “Chlorine is the greatest crippler and killer of modern times. While it prevented epidemics of one disease, it was creating another. Two decades ago, after the start of chlorination our drinking water in 1904. The present epidemic of heart trouble, cancer and senility began.” SAGINAW HOSPITAL- Joseph Price, MD “Cancer risk among people drinking chlorinated water is 93% higher than among those whose water does not contain chlorine.” U.S. COUNCIL OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY "A Professor of Water Chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh claims that exposure to vaporized chemicals through showering, bathing, and inhalation is 100 times greater than through drinking the water." ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY -- Dr. Lance Wallace “A new statistical analysis indicates that people who drink chlorinated water run a 21 percent greater risk of bladder cancer and a 38 percent greater risk of rectal cancer than people who drink water with little or no chlorine.” “I am quite convinced, based on this study, that there is an association between cancer and chlorinated water.” SCIENCE NEWS- 11 July 1992         Call 727-796-2555