“We are quite convinced, based on this study, that there is an association between cancer and chlorinated water.” - Medical College Of Wisconsin research team

The addition of chlorine to our drinking water began in the late 1800s and by 1904 was the standard in water treatment, and for the most part remains so today. We don’t use chlorine because it’s the safest or even the most effective means of disinfection, we use it because it is the cheapest. In spite of all our technological advances, we essentially still pour bleach in our water before we drink it. The long term effects of chlorinated drinking water have just recently being recognized. 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.”

Dr. Joseph Price wrote a highly controversial book in the late sixties titled Coronaries/Cholesterol/Chlorine and concluded that nothing can negate the incontrovertible fact, the basic cause of atherosclerosis and resulting entities such as heart attacks and stroke, is chlorine.” Dr. Price later headed up a study using chickens as test subjects, where two groups of several hundred birds were observed throughout their span to maturity. One group was given water with chlorine and the other without. The group raised with chlorine, when autopsied, showed some level of heart or circulatory disease in every specimen, the group without had no incidence of disease. The group with chlorine under winter conditions, showed outward signs of poor circulation, shivering, drooped feathers and a reduced level of activity. The group without chlorine grew faster, larger and displayed vigorous health. This study was well recepted in the poultry industry and is still used as a reference today. As a result, most large poultry producers use dechlorinated water. It would be a common sense conclusion that if regular chlorinated tap water is not good enough for the chickens, then it probably is not good enough for us humans!

There is a lot of well founded concern about 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

Simply stated chlorine is a pesticide, as defined by the U.S. EPA, who’s sole purpose is to kill living organisms. When we consume water containing chlorine, it kills some part of us, destroying cells and tissue inside our body. Dr. Robert Carlson, a highly respected University of Minnesota researcher who’s work is sponsored by the Federal Environmental Protection Agency, sums it up by claiming , “the chlorine problem is similar to that of air pollution”, and adds that “chlorine is the greatest crippler and killer of modern times!”

Breast cancer, which now effects one in every eight women in North America, has recently been linked to the accumulation of chlorine compounds in the breast tissue. A study carried out in Hartford Connecticut, the first of it’s kind in North America, found that, “women with breast cancer have 50% to 60% higher levels of organochlorines (chlorination byproducts) in their breast tissue than women without breast cancer.”

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. A warm shower opens up the pores of the skin and allows for excelerated absorption of chlorine and other chemicals in water. The steam we inhale while showering can contain up to 50 times the level of chemicals than tap water due to the fact that chlorine and most other contaminants vaporize much faster and at a lower temperature than water. Inhalation is a much more harmful means of exposure since the chlorine gas (chloroform) we inhale goes directly into our blood stream. When we drink contaminated water the toxins are partially filtered out by our kidneys and digestive system. Chlorine vapors are known to be a strong irritant to the sensitive tissue and bronchial passages inside our lungs, it was used as a chemical weapon in World War II. The inhalation of chlorine is a suspected cause of asthma and bronchitis, especially in children… which has increased 300% in the last two decades. “Showering is suspected as the primary cause of elevated levels of chloroform in nearly every home because of chlorine in the water.” Dr Lance Wallace, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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. Anyone who has ever swam in a chlorinated pool can relate to the harsh effects that chlorine has on the skin and hair. What’s surprising is that we commonly find higher levels of chlorine in our tap water than is recommended safe for swimming pools.

Aside from all the health risks related to chlorine in our water, it is the primary cause of bad taste and odor in drinking water. The objectionable taste causes many people to turn to other less healthful beverages like soft drinks, tea or other sweetened drinks. A decreased intake of water, for any reason, can only result in a lower degree of health.

Walkerton cover up

Do you remember what happened in May of 2000 in Walkerton, a small farming community in southwestern Ontario? The government did a full inquiry into what caused seven people to die and 2300 to become sick after a breakdown in the equipment that added precise amounts of chlorine to kill life-threatening bacteria in Walkerton’s drinking water. The breakdown was not reported to residents until days later. Walkerton’s 4800 residents and hundreds of others from surrounding areas drank and used the water for days, unaware of the deadly effects the equipment failure would cause. The 700-page report from a public inquiry into this tragedy laid blame entirely on an E. coli outbreak, totally ignoring the evidence that too much choline was added manually to treat the water.

Water treatment workers didn’t bother to inform the public that the equipment that adds measured amounts of chlorine to the water had failed and for days they tried to hide the breakdown by adding the chlorine manually. Because they were not trained for such a breakdown they proceeded to add too much chlorine to the water. The proof of this is in the numerous complaints from town residents about the taste and odor of their drinking water at the same time as people began to become sick. The inquiry did make only one note of the residents complaint but used it to imply that the water treatment workers had testified that they did not add enough chlorine to the water which caused the E. coli outbreak. The inquiry picked and chose what they wanted to hear and report to fit their E. coli outbreak claim. In the report the resident of Walkerton’s chlorine complaint is noted in the final report as follows: they (water treatment workers) had received complaints from town residents from time to time that the water had too much chlorine, which affected its taste. The government inquiry and report totally ignored this fact and covered it up by claiming an E. coli bacteria outbreak from runoff. They excluded any and all mentioning of the fact that the town of Walkerton’s water treatment workers covered up the equipment failure by trying to manually add chlorine to the drinking water. Too much chlorine is evident by its taste and smell. Too much chlorine will cause the same effect as those that occurred in May 2000 in Walkerton Ontario Canada.

What is the effect of too much chlorine in the water? Depends on the concentration of the chlorine and how you are exposed. Very little amounts won’t do any major harm. Lengthy exposure to high concentration of chlorine can damage the airway and lungs quite severely. In all but very extreme cases, this would present as a nasty, productive chest cold, or pneumonia. A chest xray might show lesions as well. Extreme cases may cause blood to appear in the sputum — what you cough up. Ingestion excessive amount of chlorine symptoms often include vomiting, severe sore throat, nausea, trouble breathing, excessive drooling and slurred speech. Inhalation of chlorine vapor often includes nausea, a burning sensation in your nose and vomiting. If excessively high concentrations of chlorine gets into your eyes, they will become severely irritated, red and loss of eyesight can occur in extreme cases. The warnings of the hazards of water treatment chlorine ingestion and inhalation are the same as those found on your everyday household cleaner called bleach. As with bleach the exposure to concentrated levels of chlorine can cause scarring of the lungs which can lead to obstruction of the small airways and ultimately impaired lung function. Chronic exposure can lead to gradual worsening of symptoms over a period of time. Acute exposure can result in lung damage that may be asymptomatic for a short period of time but can then lead to rapid death due to severe obstructive breathing problems.

The group of people most affected by exposure to chlorine are children. In the Walkerton chlorine poisoning the first victims were children. Children up to 5 years old are at the greatest risk of chlorine poisoning (especially those between the ages of 1 and 2). On May 18, 2000 two children from Walkerton with bloody diarrhea were admitted to hospital in Owen Sound. On May 19, 2000, after speaking with a health unit staff, Walkerton PUC manager Stan Koebel began flushing and super chlorinating the system. As a result of Koebel super chlorinating the system there is a very rapid increase in the number of people affected and Walkerton’s hospital is flooded with patients and calls. On May 21, 2000 the first child is airlifted to London. On May 22, 2000 the MOE begins its own investigation of the water system at the request of the health unit. Stan Koebel provides daily operating sheets for Well 5 and Well 6, and instructs his brother Frank to alter the documents for Well 7. The MOE concluded that people died or became sick as a result of E. coli, totally ignoring the testimony of Koebel that he had super chlorinated the system.

How to protect yourself from deadly chlorine exposure?

Most major towns and cities today use the harmful chlorine to treat drinking water. The good news is that chlorine is one of the easiest substances to remove from our water. How can you remove the chlorine from the water? Install a Brita (or similar) filter that attaches to your faucet. There are also water pitchers with filters available that will purify the water. In-line filters, which sit under your kitchen sink, are also an effective way to remove chlorine. The least expensive method of filtering your drinking water is by boiling or even setting water out in a large glass container in the sun for a few hours. The UV rays from the sun kills all known and man made (A-H1N1) viruses, bacteria and pathogens contained in our water, on surfaces and in the air - including the bacteria that the government claimed killed 7 and made 2300 people in Walkerton sick.