Chlorine and Trihalomethanes (THMs)

Chlorine is a powerful disinfectant commonly used in municipal water treatment plants to kill bacteria and other harmful microorganisms. Unfortunately, it can react with organic material in the water creating chloroform, trihalomethanes (THMs) and other "chlorination disinfection by-products" (CDPs), all of which have been strongly linked with incidence of cancer.

A Health Canada Position Paper, Safe Drinking Water: A Public Health Challenge, states: "14-16% of bladder cancers may be attributable to water containing CDPs. There is an urgent need to resolve this ... In fact, given the prolonged exposure to CDPs and the epidemiologic evidence of associations with several cancer sites, future research may establish CDPs as the most important environmental carcinogen in terms of the number of attributable cancers per year." The paper also links CDPs with spontaneous abortions, low sperm count, birth defects, respiratory problems, and spina bifida.

In addition to ingesting chlorine in our drinking water, we are exposed to chlorine when we shower. Most people are unaware that more chlorine is absorbed through the skin during the average shower than by drinking six to eight glasses of tap water. Skin is highly permeable - it is the body's way of excreting toxins and regulating temperature. Hot showers cause the pores of the skin to dilate, allowing chlorine and other free radicals to be rapidly absorbed. The use of a simple inline shower filter can eliminate up to ninety percent of the chlorine and other harmful residue in your tap water.