Dangers of Chlorine in Drinking Water, Bath Water, and Shower Water

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Chlorine is a toxic chemical that has been used to disinfect drinking water supplies for approximately 100 years. It kills many bacteria including those which cause typhoid, cholera, and dysentery. It is also meant to kill giardia, cryptosporidium, (which are often resistant to chlorine) along with other problems in the water. It is the best and most economical way to disinfect water supplies.

However, Chlorine is also one of the most dangerous and insidious poisons in our tap water today. It has many adverse effects on humans. Chlorine reacts with naturally occurring substances, such as decomposing plant and animal materials, normally present in the water to create create Trihalomethanes (THMs) which are by products formed when chlorine kills bacteria, viruses, and protozoa. These THMs trigger the production of free radicals in the body, cause cellular damage, and are highly carcinogenic.

Scientists now think that drinking chlorinated tap water may cause scarring of the arteries. Once the arteries are scared, it often leads to arteriosclerosis and heart disease.

Various types of cancers such as cancer of the kidney, bladder, breast, and urinary tract are more common in some cities; because chlorine in excess of government standards is added due to the water supplies are so polluted. Some health officials are now saying that it is the leading cause of bladder and rectal cancer.

Drinking chlorinated tap water is one part of the problem, but chlorine is absorbed through the skin also. In fact, more chlorine and other chemicals are absorbed at a higher rate through the skin during baths or showers via the pores in our skin, especially with the heat and steam opening the pores wider. When this happens, we absorb and inhale more chlorine and at a higher rate, from one bath or shower, than the amount that is taken in from drinking five glasses of tap water. Steam from a shower or hot bath can contain up to 20 times the concentration of chlorine as tap water.

The American Journal of Public Health links chlorine to increases in certain types of cancer, skin irritations and asthma and stated that "up to 2/3 of the harmful exposure was due to skin absorption and inhalation of chlorine in shower water."

The EPA in the U.S. recently reported that due to chlorine and showering, virtually every home in America has a detectable level of chloroform gas in the air. (A strong respiratory irritant)

Chlorine removes the natural protective oils from hair and skin, casing aging and drying. Chlorine is the biggest trigger of eczema and other skin conditions. It affects your thyroid function as well. Doctors know that chlorine and fluoride block iodine receptors in the Thyroid gland resulting in reduced iodine-containing hormone production and finally in Hypothyroidism.

Then we also often get lead into the tap water through corrosive pipes in plumbing systems. It is especially harmful for children and pregnant mothers as it can result in developmental delays and/or learning disorders. According to one study, there can be more than2100 known toxins that could be present in our tap water. But just between the chlorine, the lead, the giardia, and the cryptosporidium, our tap water can be quite dangerous. We must not stop where the public water systems efforts leave off. We can do something about this situation.

The good news is that just because chlorine is in the water coming from your tap, you don't have to drink it or bath in it! Affordable, high quality drinking water and shower filters are available that remove these poisons and protozoa from our tap water; so that you can protect yourself and your family from health problems.

Resources: CDC, EPA, Underwriters Laboratories Inc., WHO, CA dept. of Public Health, NESC, Web MD

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Jo Whiteflower

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