Chlorine Health Hazard Information

 Acute Effects: 

• Chlorine is a potent irritant in humans to the eyes, the upper respiratory tract, and the lungs. Several studies have reported the following effects: 0.014 to 0.054 ppm: tickling of the nose; 0.04 to 0.097 ppm: tickling of the throat; 0.06 to 0.3 ppm; itching of the nose and cough, stinging, or dryness of the nose and throat; 0.35 to 0.72 ppm: burning of the conjunctiva and pain after 15 minutes; above 1.0 ppm: discomfort ranging from ocular and respiratory irritation to coughing, shortness of breath, and headaches.²
• Higher levels of chlorine have resulted in the following effects in humans: 1 to 3 ppm: mild mucous membrane irritation; 30 ppm: chest pain, vomiting, dypsnea, cough; 46 to 60 ppm: toxic pneumonitis and pulmonary edema; 430 ppm: lethal after 30 minutes; 1,000 ppm: fatal within a few minutes.¹
• Chlorine is extremely irritating to the skin and can cause severe burns.¹
• Acute animal tests, such as the LC₅₀ test in rats and mice, have shown chlorine to have high acute toxicity.³
• EPA'sOffice of Air Quality Planning and Standards, for a hazard ranking under Section 112(g) of the Clean Air Act Amendments, considers chlorine to be a "high concern" pollutant based on severe acute toxicity.⁴

Chronic Effects (Noncancer):

• Several studies in the older literature reported that chronic exposure to chlorine concentrations of around 5 ppm caused respiratory complaints, corrosion of the teeth, inflammation of the mucous membranes of the nose, and increased susceptibility to tuberculosis in workers.⁵
• Animal studies have reported decreased body weight gain, eye and nose irritation, and effects on the respiratory tract, liver, and kidney from chronic inhalation exposure to chlorine.²
• Other studies have indicated that exposure to chlorine, via inhalation, may alter disease resistance in animals, with higher incidences of emphysema, pneumonia, and tuberculosis reported.²

References

1. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB, online database). National Toxicology Information Program, National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD. 1993.
2. E.J. Calabrese and E.M. Kenyon. Air Toxics and Risk Assessment. Lewis Publishers, Chelsea, MI. 1991.
3. R.D. Morris, A. Audet, I.F. Angelillo, T. C. Chalmers, and F. Mosteller. Chlorination, Chlorination by-products, and cancer: A meta-analysis. American Journal of Public Health, 82(7):955-977. 1992.
4. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Ambient Water Quality Criteria for Chlorine. EPA 440/5-84-030. Office of Water Regulations and Standards, Washington, DC. 1985.
5. American Council of Government of Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH). Documentation of the Threshold Limit Values. Fourth Edition. Cincinnati, OH. 1986.

Chlorine and Your Health

In Super Nutrition for Healthy Hearts Dr Richard Passwater shows how "the origin of heart disease is akin to the origin of cancer" Chlorination could very well be a key factor linking these two major diseases. Chlorine creates THM's and haloforms. These potent chemical pollutants can trigger the production of excess free radicals in our bodies. Free radicals cause cell damage. Excess free radicals can cause normal smooth muscle cells in the arterial wall to go haywire, to mutate. The fibrous plaque consequently formed is essentially a benign tumor. Unfortunately, this tumor is linked with the origin of heart disease. Several studies in the older literature reported that chronic exposure to chlorine concentrations of around 5 ppm caused respiratory complaints, corrosion of the teeth, inflammation of the mucous membranes of the nose, and increased susceptibility to tuberculosis in workers. American Council of Government of Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH). Documentation of the Threshold Limit Values. Fourth Edition. Cincinnati, OH. 1986.

Animal studies have reported decreased body weight gain, eye and nose irritation, and effects on the respiratory tract, liver, and kidney from chronic inhalation exposure to chlorine. Other studies have indicated that exposure to chlorine, via inhalation, may alter disease resistance in animals, with higher incidences of emphysema, pneumonia, and tuberculosis reported. Source: E.J. Calabrese and E.M. Kenyon. Air Toxics and Risk Assessment. Lewis Publishers, Chelsea, MI. 1991.

Showering may negatively affect our healthy more than we ever thought. Gasses as a rule are less soluble in hot water, and when heated, the free chlorine in water escapes into the air we breathe. When taking a shower chlorine gasses are steadily increased in the air to an extent that we breathe the harmful fumes. Regularly taking hot showers with chlorinated water could irritate the lungs and pose a health risk.

Chlorine and Aging

Studies published in Nature and Health magazine indicate the likelihood that regular exposure to chlorinated water can promote the aging process of the skin, much like extended exposure to sunlight.

Chlorine and Hair

"One out of every two clients coming into the salon has chlorine damage to their hair," says Vancouver's top hairdresser Derek London, "It's almost the same as oxidation from peroxide burning, except chlorine adds density to the hair. You see a lot of breakage and splitting. The chlorine makes hair shiny like fiberglass. Hair tangles when it's shampooed and becomes difficult to comb."

Chlorine and Your Drinking Water ~
Here's What The Experts Have To Say:

"The drinking of chlorinated water has finally been officially linked to an increased incidence of colon cancer. An epidemiologist at Oak Ridge Associated Universities completed a study of colon cancer victims and non-cancer patients and concluded that the drinking of chlorinated water for 15 years or more was conducive to a high rate of colon cancer." Health Freedom News, January/February 1987 "Long-term drinking of chlorinated water appears to increase a person's risk of developing bladder cancer as much as 80%," according to a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Some 45,000 Americans are diagnosed every year with bladder cancer. St. Paul Dispatch & Pioneer Press, December 17, 1987 "Although concentrations of these carcinogens are low...it is precisely these low levels which cancer scientists believe are responsible for the majority of human cancers in the United States." Report Issued By The Environmental Defense Fund "Chlorine itself is not believed to be the problem. Scientists suspect that the actual cause of the bladder cancers is a group of chemicals that form as result of reactions between the chlorine and natural substances and pollutants in the water." (organic matter such as leaves and twigs.) St. Paul Dispatch & Pioneer Press, December 17, 1987 Greenpeace reports have found chlorine-based compounds to be the most common toxic and persistent pollutants in the Great Lakes