You may ask why is chlorine in drinking water? The reason is because chlorine is a highly efficient disinfectant. We need to disinfect our water because of contaminates that are in it. Some of the contaminates are drugs found in drinking water, pesticides from agriculture runoff, lawn chemicals, gasoline to name a few. Virtually everything that goes down the drain, on our lawns or farm fields, or into the environment by any means eventually ends up in the water we drink.
In the early 1900's before the presence of pesticides, herbicides, tens of thousands of chemicals, and chlorine that we are exposed to in our drinking water, the average American had a 1 in 50 chance of getting cancer. Today that figure is one out of three people are at risk of getting cancer.
In a 1992 study that was reported on in the July issue of the American Journal of Public Health researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee found that people who regularly drink tap water containing high levels of chlorine by-products have a greater risk of developing bladder and rectal cancers than people who drink non-chlorinated water. The study estimates that about 9 percent of all bladder cancer and 18 percent of all rectal cancer cases are associated with long-term consumption of these by-products. This amounts to over 20,000 new cases each year.
Chlorine in drinking water is a weapon against cholera and various other water-borne diseases. Its disinfectant help to provide disease-free tap water to homes and industry. But this disinfecting comes with a price. Just like drugs found in drinking water, chlorine in our drinking water is dangerous.
Chlorine reacts with other naturally occurring elements, like leaves and twigs and other elements to form toxins. These toxins are called trihalomethanes (THM's). When these THM's make their way into our bodies, we put ourselves at risk for heart disease, bladder cancer, eczema, and asthma. Dr. Peter Montague of the Environmental Research Foundation cites several studies that show pregnant women who consume moderate to heavy chlorine in drinking water have a higher miscarriage and birth defects rate.
Expended efforts are being done to research better ways than chlorination to disinfect our drinking water. Until then, each of us must protect ourselves. One of the best options to remove the chlorine in drinking water is a carbon-based water filtration system. Carbon-based filters are also the most effective way to remove drugs found in drinking water. You owe it to your health to find a good water filtration system today and install it in your home.
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