The Dangers of Putting Chlorine In Water

In the Bahamas, approximately 80% of the Bahamian population chlorinate the water in their homes. Chlorination began in the early 1900s to kill or reduce bio-contaminants from water. This is one of the reasons why we don't see waterborne diseases like cholera, typhoid fever and other water diseases prevalent in the Bahamas. Chlorine treatment, although effective in killing bio-hazards, does not solve the problem of hard water. Chlorine treatment is simply the most inexpensive method of treatment with long term negative effects on the human body. The effects of chlorination are slow. We are now reaping the results of chlorination as we are seeing a growing number of cancer cases being reported today as compared to the last 20 or 30 years.

Over the last hundred years there have been advances in technology in lighting systems, the way we build homes, transportation, the way we communicate and the list goes on and on. So why is it that we are still cleaning our water, our most precious commodity the same way it was done a hundred years ago? Could you imagine if we still communicated the same way we did in earlier years using smoke signals, pigeons, mailed letters or depended on the mail boat to send urgent messages? Think about it.

You may be asking yourself, well if this is the case why is the government still using chlorination methods? The reason this still occurs is simply because chlorination is the least expensive way to purify water. Just enough so that your body does not have an immediate negative effect such as diarrhea and vomiting as in some other 3rd world countries. If the gevernment were to take on more advanced water purification methods, most persons would not be able to afford to pay for water.

As mentioned earlier, the effects of chlorine are slow and long term. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), chlorine used for drinking is dangerous. It was discovered that persons who drank chlorinated water were at a 21% higher risk of developing bladder cancer and 38% higher risk for rectal cancer. Medical professionals have also linked heart attacks and high cholesterol to chlorine in water.

May people are of the opinion that they do not drink chlorinated water because they do not drink tap water, but the truth is that the body does. Everytime you take a 10 minute shower, you absorb more chlorine in your body than if you had drank 8 glasses of the same water. Chlorine! One of the biggest dangers of your morning shower.