Did you know that chlorinating pool water is much worse than just the smells that it makes?
It doesn’t just make your hair dry and your skin dry; no it is far more dangerous than that! When chlorine mixes with even the most, minute amounts of organic compounds, compounds that are almost always found in water and that we often introduce into the pool every day (think sweat and urine); they can produce harmful by-products called Tri-halo-methanes, chloramines and other toxic by-products.
As a group scientists call these compounds disinfection by- products or DBP’s. In fact these compounds have been proven to be carcinogenic (that means cancer causing)! According to a report from the US Council of Environmental Quality, the cancer risks for people who drink or swim in chlorinated water is up to 93% higher than for those whose water does not contain chlorine! When the world first began to introduce chlorine to swimming pools and the water supply, it drastically reduced the spread of water borne diseases and illnesses. It helped keep cities and town’s residents safe, now, however, we know that this new method of killing germs in water came with a price!
According to the US EPA the average American now consumes, more than 300-600x times the amount of chlorine that is safe to ingest. And if you are a chlorinated swimming pool owner that number can be even higher!