The Lethal Legacy of Chlorine: A Perpetual Menace

The Lethal Legacy of Chlorine: A Perpetual Menace

Good water is crucial for our health and happiness—plain and simple. If you’re drinking and showering in chlorinated water (which covers 98% of public water supplies), it might impact your health and appearance. Think about how your eyes feel after a swim in a chlorinated pool.

Chlorine, similar to pesticides and antibiotics, is effective at killing harmful pathogens. Thanks to chlorinated water, outbreaks of deadly diseases through public water supplies, once common in the 19th and early 20th centuries, are almost nonexistent in the U.S. today. While chlorine is necessary to purify water initially, it’s equally important to remove it before consumption. Chlorine doesn’t distinguish between harmful bacteria like cholera and essential components of your immune system. Here are some reasons why drinking chlorinated water might be harmful:

When chlorine mixes with natural substances in water, like magnesium and calcium, or with contaminants, like pesticides, it creates trihalomethanes (THMs) such as chloroform. Despite inconclusive evidence, the Environmental Protection Agency suggests that THMs could be linked to cancer and reproductive or developmental issues.

In 1998, the California Department of Health reported that women drinking water with THM levels of 75 parts per billion (similar to Burlington, Vermont’s water supply) doubled their miscarriage risk, with rates jumping from 9.5% to 16%.

Dr. Joseph Price argued in his 1969 book *Coronaries/Cholesterol/Chlorine* that heart disease isn’t solely caused by cholesterol, but by cholesterol that has reacted with chlorine. This claim, though disputed, was based on a study where chickens drinking chlorinated water developed circulation problems and heart disease. Because of this study, the poultry industry still uses dechlorinated water.

You can also dechlorinate your water. The most effective method is using a Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) water filter for your entire house, like those from LifeSource Water. Avoid quick fixes like bottled water, which is harmful to the environment, or small, unreliable filters that need constant replacing. Installing a whole-house filtration system is the best choice for your family’s health, the environment, and your wallet.