Is Chlorine Safe?
Is Chlorine safe?
Have you ever smelt your tap water and realised it smells like a swimming pool?
Untreated sources of water such as streams, dams and rainwater tanks can contain harmful micro-organisms that can cause serious illness. So, to keep our tap water safe to drink governments add Chlorine to the water supply.
Chlorine, however, is a highly reactive chemical, which is one reason why it makes such a good disinfectant. Used in high enough doses Chlorine can be effective in keeping your drinking water bacteria and organism free from storage to the household tap. But at what cost?
The chemical compounds of Chlorine are among the most economical and efficient killers of almost all living things – fish, animals, reptiles, insects, bacteria and humans.
The problem is that Chlorine in the water supply can react with naturally occurring organic compounds to produce compounds known as disinfection byproducts (DBPs). The most common DBPs being trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs).
More than just Chlorine
However, Chlorine is not the only chemical governments add to our drinking water. They also add coagulants and flocculants, scale prevention chemicals, algicides, antioxidants and of course, fluoride.
These chemicals include sulphuric acid, hydrogen peroxide, lime, aluminium sulphate and ammonia. A wonderful concoction of chemicals all designed to give you clean drinking water…among other things.
Chronic exposure to some of these chemicals can cause liver and kidney cancer, as well as heart disease, unconsciousness or death in high doses.
Due to the potential carcinogenic nature of these compounds, drinking water regulations across the Australia require regular monitoring of these compounds in our water systems.
However, local news reports clearly indicate that regular monitoring is not so regular.
Filtering your tap water is the only sure way to be safe. Look at our range of Large and Ultra Chic filters that are designed to keep you and your family safe and healthy. Also our new SCP Fluoride Plus filters are designed to remove Fluoride and Chlorine from the water.
