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 arteriosclerosis 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 received 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 accelerated 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.
The good news is that chlorine is one of the easiest
substances to remove from our water. For that reason it is only logically to do so.
Chlorine serves a purpose, but the hazard of doing away with chlorine is far less than the health risk it causes. Chlorine represents a
very real and serious threat to our health, and should be removed from our
homes, at the point of use, both from the water we drink and the water we
shower in.
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