Chlorination of water is common, providing benefits such as reducing disease risk. Chlorine prevents contamination but may trigger health problems and allergies. The degree of risk versus benefits is debated, with some communities considering alternatives to reduce negative effects.
Chlorination of water is a common process in many municipalities today. Adding chlorine to water is known to provide a number of benefits, including reducing the chance of people developing certain diseases as a result of consuming the water. At the same time, there are some risks with ingesting chlorinated water which has raised some discussions about whether the benefits outweigh the risks.
One of the major benefits of water chlorination is that the process helps prevent contamination of the water supply by various types of microorganisms. The presence of chlorine does not interfere with the water’s ability to provide the necessary hydration, but it does inhibit the presence of foreign organisms that could negatively affect the functioning of various organs in the body. By adding chlorine to water as it passes through a municipal filtration system, the cleansing action of the chlorine helps prevent the spread of disease from waste or other products that are regularly discharged into sewers and bodies of water that supply the city or town with water.
While no one disputes that chlorinating water helps reduce the risk of developing many different types of health ailments, there is also some concern that the presence of chlorine in water supplies can actually trigger health problems in certain situations. Since the latter part of the 20th century, concern has arisen about the role of chlorination in the development of colon and bladder cancer. At the same time, there is some evidence that people allergic to chlorine in general are at risk of suffering some type of long-term damage, possibly with some type of organ failure. There are also some concerns about the impact water chlorination has on pregnancy, both in terms of stillbirth and birth defects.
At present, there is no consensus on the degree of risk associated with water chlorination versus the benefits. While some studies seem to indicate that there are very real dangers associated with using chlorine to purify municipal water systems, detractors often point to what they see as discrepancies in the group that served as the basis for the study, or in the mechanics of the study itself. As the debate continues, some communities have begun to consider alternatives to water chlorination as a means of providing clean water to citizens, either as a means of eliminating the use of chlorine completely or at least reducing the level of use to the point that the possibilities for negative effects are virtually eliminated while still providing some benefits.
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